


Neither Mist, Nor Sky

by Night-Mare (Aoife)



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Different Primary Flames, Anime/Manga Fusion, Author loves to chat in the Comments, Canonical Mental Health Issues, Daily Life Arc, Dark, Flame Active Character(s), Flame Theory and Lore, Multi Flame User Gokudera Hayato, POV Multiple, Rebuilding Sibling Relationship(s), Slow Build Gokudera Hayato/Sawada Tsunayoshi, Unconventional Uses for Dying Will Flames, Vignettes and Missing Scenes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-24
Updated: 2018-01-15
Packaged: 2018-09-26 17:39:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 87
Words: 32,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9913724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aoife/pseuds/Night-Mare
Summary: It starts with Hayato taking his Familiga's Rings when he runs.It continues with him managing to figure out quite a lot of Flame theory by himself, and lighting five of those Rings.And then we hit the Daily Life Arc ...Quick Links:Prologue & Episode 1|Episode 2|Episode 3|Episode 4|Episode 5|Episode 6





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> To make things a little easier to follow, I'm using the Anime's timeline primarily, but yanking from the Manga where more detail is given or things were watered down for the Anime. For ex. Smokin' Bomb Hayato rather than Hurricane Bomb Hayato; Hayato's cigarette habit; Yamamoto's suicidality - those sort of things. 
> 
> Right now this is rated T because of various characters tendency towards vulgarity; ~~if - or when - sex happens, it'll be in linked ficlets unless it's _really_ integral to the story.~~ okay, so there's masturbation and sexual thoughts; in my defence they do involve character insight/development!
> 
> * * *
> 
> If anyone has English transcripts of the first few episodes of the anime, it would make the process of writing this easier; at the moment I'm having to transcribe each scene I need first.
> 
> This is being updated in spurts; delays between updates are generally caused by the need to transcribe the next episode.
> 
> * * *
> 
> Chapter titles indicate when they take place/whose view point is involved.

The rings he wears on his fingers - they’re the real reason that no one has been willing to accept him into their Familiga. They say that he’s more trouble than he’s worth, that someone will come looking for him eventually, and they’ll be Flame Active and justified in their rage. No one would waste a full set of those rings on a kid. But he’s also good enough that they’ll hire him, at least for a little while, and too good to take those Rings from easily. That keeps him in enough money that he can feed himself well enough to stay alive, and keeps him ahead of his father until the day when Reborn calls him.

(He manages to light five of those rings though, all but the Mist and the Sky. He wonders if he might manage to lit those two someday, but dismisses it. He doesn’t want to be a Sky, doesn’t want to be dragged back to his father and made to become the Don, and he doesn’t like what possessing the Mist Flame implies amongst those who know of the Flames. Illusionists lie too easily for his liking. If he has his way, he’ll never light the last two.)

He takes one last hit before he leaves Italy. A dumb mook, barely worth the effort, but the pay is enough that he’ll be able to afford both his flight and somewhere to live when he reaches Japan. He’s not half as good a poisoner as his sister is, but he’s skilled enough that the man dies an hour or so after he accepts the pizza delivery from him.

(If he did have a Mist Flame, though, it would make his entry in Japan less expensive; open-ended Return tickets do not come cheap, and whilst he could claim Japanese citizenship, he currently only possesses his Italian passport. That means the Return portion of the ticket is not optional, if he wants to be allowed entry. Really skilled Mists are rumoured to be able to teleport.)

The briefing pack that’s waiting for him in Namimori has him smoking his way through a whole packet of cigarettes. He’d thought - he’s not sure what he’d thought, if he was being honest. Perhaps that his sister had mentioned him to her Partner, or that his father had parted with enough cash for him that one of the Arcobaleno had taken an interest - whether that be to train him or kill him. Maybe his best option would be to leave Japan, but that would burn bridges that he had no desire to burn. No sane mafioso refused the Arcobaleno anything - there were rumours about what happened when you did.


	2. Interlude - Reborn

Hayato Gokudera had seemed like a perfect choice. Or at least he had until he'd actually seen the kid. The hand of Flame Rings he was wearing, and the two on a chain around his neck and his resemblance to Bianchi - who, no matter what they told or implied to people, had been his first serious student - told him exactly who Smokin' Bomb Hayato really was.

What he should do was return the kid to his father; Bianchi had no desire to run her Familiga and the boy had had the gall to steal the Familiga's rings when he'd escaped. On the other hand, the Decimo candidate he was here to train would need a cultural bridge and translator until he'd managed to break the Seal Nono had placed. 

Perhaps the simplest thing to do would be to tell his protege where her younger brother was and let her make the decision? If nothing else it would get to her Japan long enough that he could persuade her to take on a long term mission as Nana Sawada's bodyguard. Iemitsu had been exceedingly lucky with his security by obscurity policy, but the likelyhood that that luck would continue once he broke the Seal was minimal. Skies were natural born chaos magnets.

He'd just have to roll with it. No matter what, the kid would prove useful. Or at the very least profitable.


	3. Episode 1

The Vongola Heir is so painfully civilian, so much not mafia material that Hayato finds himself wanting to challenge him almost without considering the consequences. Really, he'd be doing the kid a favor to kill him now - the older Dons would eat him alive, and being that pretty into the bargain, he'd just end up as someone's puppet and catamite.

What the hell had Iemitsu Sawada been  _thinking_? Before he'd fled his family, he'd been in training for this bullshit since he was  _two_  and he'd still barely survived this long. How on God's green earth was this Flame ignorant civilian suppose to lead the fucking Alliance?

The click of a rifle cocking was something that he'd trained himself to respond to instantaneously. He'd had to; it could be the difference between living and dying. Storm and Lightning both flared to life on their respective Rings even as he tracked the sound to its point of origin.

He finally found it up in the rafters of the gymnasium, and his eyes widen in surprise as he catches sight of the Sun Arcobaleno waiting to take a shot with a strange green and black rifle. The hitman had managed to turn the Cavallone heir into something resembling a competent Don; the older teenager had at least managed to turn his Familiga around, though how much of that was his own native ability and how much of it had been Reborn's talents was something only time would tell. There had been rumours about his teaching methods though.

He doubted that even the Sun Arcobaleno would actually kill the last remaining Vongola heir without something more egregious having happened than even the poor civilian in question could have managed in less than seventy-two hours, so it was likely he was about to get to witness those techniques first - or was it second - hand.

He was right. The only thing that bullet could have been (and that rifle’s silencing was  _wicked_ ) was one of the Specials that there were always rumours about if you knew where to listen - and he’d learned to listen the hard way. It was about the only thing that could explain how someone quite that much of a civilian could blaze to life as the sort of all-encompassing Sky that the mafia told stories about - and then fizzle back into a civilian within five minutes.

Which all made the orders from the Arcobaleno, the orders that had brought him here to witness this, all the more confusing. Everyone knew that Skies were powerhouses, that no sane man went up against them one-on-one, and that their Guardians were hand-picked in much the same way as the Mafia still arranged marriages. What the hell was he here for, and why did Reborn want him to challenge his student for a prize he couldn’t win? Even if he suddenly manifested the remaining two flames, he wouldn’t be capable of holding the Alliance.


	4. Interlude - Gokudera

He’d spent the previous day settling into Namimori and then presenting his forged papers - first to the staff at the middle school, and then to the son of a bitch who seemed to actually be in charge. He was a year or so older than Hayato himself, and teetering on the edge of becoming Flame Active himself - if he wasn’t there already. Definitely Cloudy, given the way he’d made the school his own, and probably Misty as well given that no one thought his power was anything extraordinary.

He’d seemed to know that the papers were fake, but after several minutes of staring at him, had smiled, a disturbing smile, something perhaps more at home on a wolf’s face. The teen scrawled something on a piece of paper on his desk, and then folded it and handed it to him.

Hayato, having actual self-preservation instincts, contrary to most people’s opinions, had taken that opening to leave, before the teen’s killing intent had done more than make itself known. He was, at best, a minimally competent close range fighter, and the way the other moved suggested he was a trained martial artist. It’d make him an unusual Mist, and a dangerous one, and he’d much rather pick his own battlefield when facing a Mist.

His cash from the last hit in Italy wasn’t going to stretch as far as he’d hoped; for a sleepy little town, Namimori’s rental market - especially those willing to rent to him, without references - was expensive. It would take him time to tap into the Underground here in Japan, and that had meant he’d spent the rest of the day after witnessing the Decimo candidate’s fight searching for someone willing to employ an underage half-gaijin.

After that, his first “official” day at Nami Middle was going to be exactly as much hassle and as boring as he’d expected it’d be. Before he’d left home, his tutors had at least managed to imbue in him enough interest in learning for it’s own sake that he’d been slipping into university lectures back in Italy. Whilst he knew there were holes in his education, he could do most of the work that was on the curriculum for his age group in his sleep.

About the only thing that was going to make it even half way tricky was the fact that he’d need to remember to write his answers in Japanese, not Italian.


	5. Episode 2 - Class 1-A

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Centred dialogue in quotes is lifted directly from the anime and is being used to frame when thoughts are being - well, _thought_.

_"Allow me to introduce our transfer student."_

He resists the temptation to roll his eyes. His classmates look so _innocent_. Including the Decimo candidate. He's not here to be the school's golden boy, though, so he's wearing the uniform in his own inestimable style. It makes the Rings look like just one more accessory, and it allows him to conceal some of his more useful tools more easily.

And if it does get him into trouble with the Misty bastard who actually runs the school, he's got enough Sun to be a fast healer and actually fighting is still the fastest way to improve his combat skills.

_"He just returned from studying in Italy."_

That wasn't the lie in his papers. He wondered whether that alteration to his cover story could be laid at the feet of the Arcobaleno or the Cloudy Mist masquerading as the school's disciplinary committee chairman; it could be either. It was probably a better lie than the one he'd used, but meant he was going to have to be even more careful about using Japanese rather than Italian as it implied that was his mother tongue.

_"Gokudera Hayato."_

Last names first, and remember your honorifics, baka. And ugh, was he really going to have to deal with being exoticised? Yes, yes he was, judging by the whispered conversations he could still hear despite being at the front of the classroom. He hoped the Arcobaleno appreciated what he was putting himself through standing here - this is the first time he's set foot in a school. Ever. Time to finish setting the stage; perhaps he could get the Decimo candidate to show a little spine?

The pretty boy wasn't even paying any attention to him, instead looking in shock at one of the girls who was staring at him. She was cute enough he supposed, but had nothing on some of the women he'd paid for in the past. Reborn's instructions had said to challenge and goad his new student, so it was easy enough to stop by the boy's desk, and let his killing intent seep out.

_"Huh?"_

Such a civilian. Did he even have a sense of self-preservation? Or any ability to read other people? It would have been incredibly easy to shove either a stick of dynamite or a plate of his sister's poison cooking in that gaping mouth. He was tempted to do just that for a long moment, but settled for kicking the desk over.

_"Gokudera-kun! Your seat is ... Gokudera-kun"_

Answer? No.

Though he did feel just a little guilty about the way the kid had flinched, almost as if he'd expected the kick to make contact with him instead of the furniture. Still ...


	6. Episode 2 - Challenge

“Wh-what do you want, Gokudera-kun?”

Wasn’t it obvious? Was the kid so very civilian that the Flames rolling off him, a potent threat and challenge that made most adult mafioso flinch away from him, were going over his head? Were the Vongola, _the_ Flame Active Familiga, really intending to put a Flame-blind civilian in charge? Yes, he’d seen - and felt him for that matter - overflowing with Sky Flames, incredibly tempting and potent Sky Flames, but that had been under the influence of one of the Special bullets that the Vongola must have created. That was a crutch at best, and kicking those away was _easy_.

“It’ll be the end of the Vongola Family if they name scum like you the new boss.”

Yes, the Familiga had lost three heirs in a comparatively short period of time, but there was still the bastard heir, wasn’t there? He hadn’t heard of there being a funeral for him, which meant he wasn’t actually dead. And if he could be made to take his father’s position as Don to his own Familiga despite being a bastard, then why couldn’t Xanxus inherit, rather than this pretty little civilian. He’d make a far better bed warmer than Boss; perhaps he could even be studded out to spread that lovely Sky Flame a little wider.

“Wh-why do you know about the Family?”

He wanted to roll his eyes, but reached for his Flames instead, and palmed one of the actual sticks of dynamite he used as base for the Flame tricks he’d taught himself. Cloud to multiply one to many and Sun, to light the wicks. Lightning to shield himself from back blast and Storm to amplify their effects; he hadn’t figured out how to incorporate the weakest of his Flames into his attacks yet. Wasn’t the reason he knew obvious?

“You’re an eyesore.”

Lie. He could see what Sawada Tsunayoshi would look like fully grown in his mind’s eye, and it made him regret his next action. But he wasn’t strong enough to hold this Sky against all comers if the Sky couldn’t defend itself. At least not yet, and they wouldn’t be given long enough for him to get strong enough. Better both of them dead than someone else swooping in and stealing him away.

_“Die.”_


	7. Episode 2 - Battle - Gokudera

“I’ll finish you with the next one.”

He was surprised by how quick this pretty little civilian was to dodge his dynamite; most of the mafioso he’d killed had had slower reflexes. Had succumbed within two or three sticks, if he’d been forced to face them in open combat - not that he had on most of his hits. He was a specialist, after all, and even within the Mafia, so few thought to check their cars, their mail or even their food.

“Hey Tsuna.”

The boy he’d pegged as the baseball idiot. Except that he wasn’t just that; he could feel the fact that he was twisting and balancing on the edge of going Flame Active and that meant that he probably had a parent who was also Flame Active; the state tended to run in families, once it had been achieved. It was a very, very rare civilian who manifested their Flame, and it was always such a noisy occurrence to those who knew how to listen that one of the Familigas inevitably wound end up co-opting them.

“Y-yamamoto!”

So the civilian Sky did consider the idiot someone worth worrying about; that was interesting. But not relevant to the fact that he was still managing to dodge his dynamite. Perhaps having another civilian in play would make the pretty little thing stay still long enough that he could actually kill him. It would be a shame to kill the idiot; he’d sell for a lot to the right Familiga if he was to tip over into being Active. Not to the Estraneo; he had more ethics than that, but he suspected the Superbi would pay well for an unrelated Rain, even if it was the idiot's Secondary.

“Whatcha doing here?”

Perhaps not. No one wants to introduce imbecility into their Familiga's Flame line after all. Was he blind? Was it really that difficult to see that he was trying to kill Sawada Tsunayoshi? Mother Mary and all the Saints, he was throwing sticks of dynamite at the boy! And it wasn’t like he was a Mist user who could veil what was going on from observers.

“Die!”

Except perhaps there were Mist Flames in play; he wouldn’t put it past that Misty bastard that ran the school to have the school grounds saturated with his Flame, to have used it to lay claim to his Territory. And Clouds were control freaks, so he might well be using his Mist to make his Territory into what he wanted it to be by force of will. And then meant that this was a Territory where the Cloudy Mist or Misty Cloud, whichever the bastard was, was the final say; and until he said panic, no-one did.

“Snuff them out! Snuff them out! Ah so hot! It’s no use!”

He had to admit a sliver of doubt; of something like creeping admiration. The people who responded to his sticks of dynamite by attempting to snuff them out with their bare fingers were few and far between, and for this pretty little civilian to even  _try_? That was impressive. The little Sky was trying and he didn’t even have his Flames; perhaps he wasn’t so very useless.

“What kind of game is this? Looks fun. Let me join in.”

He could feel the baseball idiot start to go Flame Active; it was in the way things slowed down, the way he had to force his own Flames to burn through the Tranquility. He’d be a powerhouse when he was trained and it looked like much of what he was seeing was a facade, too, with the Mist and Lightning Flames he was leaking. But it wasn’t the first time he’d faced a Rain, and eating through others Flames was one thing Storm Flames were very, very good at.

“No! Don’t!”

He could also see though that the idiota was indeed  _entirely_  untrained. It was there in the fact that the stick of dynamite in his hand was still lit - damnit, he knew how long his fuses were to the  _micro_ -second and it should have already blown; but he’d also seen one of the Vongola Rains - he couldn’t remember whether the woman had been Enrico’s or Federico’s - put out every natural fire within a mile of them once.

“Fight like your life depends on it.”

≤Deathperation Shot≥


	8. Episode 2 - Battle - Yamamoto

 

He looks at the stick of dynamite in his hand and back at the transfer student, the genius trying to hide beneath a delinquent's skin, the one who threw it. He then looks at Tsuna, Tsuna whose voice contains actual concern for_him_, and something inside him starts to fracture.

_“What kind of game is this? Looks fun. Let me join in.”_

It's not a game, he knows it's not a game, but the words spill from his mouth anyway; Tsuna's one of the few people who sees  _him_  not the baseball star, and it's the way he difuses stress, by turning things into a game. He's good at games; he's not good at real life.

_“No! Don’t!”_

The fact that Tsuna is  _genuinely_  scared for him, even with his attempt at easing stress, that he doesn't want Takeshi to put himself at risk helping him, wrenches that fracturing thing open, and in response, the world catches fire - except that the fire is green, and blue and indigo and it's so very beautiful.

_“Fight like your life depends on it.”_

Gokudera, the new student, glows in purple and red and blue and yellow and green to his new sight, and he wants. Tsuna's beautiful, too. Should be as beautiful as Gokudera, but where as the Italian shines brilliantly, he's all chained up; his orange fire is trying to escape, but it can't, and it makes him want to weep.

≤Deathperation Shot≥

The answering light is brilliant, bright orange; it almost overwhelms him, but he manages to hold on. To stay focused on Tsuna, and the dynamite in his hand. He wants to help.

Except that then there is purple fire meeting the orange, and he's lost anything that can anchor him against the new sensations. He finds it again in purple and orange fire, and he  _burns_.


	9. Interlude - Gokudera

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made some minor tweaks to the previous chapter (it mainly concerns Takeshi's Flames and personal head canons, and will be relevant in a chapter or so).

He thought he was prepared for what a Deathperation shot would feel when it hits someone at close quarters; after all he had been within feet of the incident during the volleyball match, but the back wash of Sky Flames that erupted from the tiny civilian still caught him by surprise. It felt like they were giving him the Flame equivalent of puppy dog eyes and whispering to him "why are you trying to kick me, don't you want me?". Then the civilian maybe Rain was hit by them, too, and his Flames flared out of control. The problem was that he had just thrown another handful of dynamite and they'd all been caught at different stages and he couldn't.

He couldn't calculate where they'd all go, and he couldn't Harden his whole body yet, his Lightning was one of his tertiaries and fuck this was going to hurt. And then the Sky Flames flared again, and wrapped around him, and he was blinking and dazed, but none of his dynamite had detonated, and he was  _warm_. Warm for the first time since he'd run. Run from the poison, run from his father who thought his pain was funny, and from his sister who couldn't help but hurt him. In fact he hadn't felt this warm since -.

Since his mother.

He smiled at his Sky. He had a Sky of his own, something he'd never expected to have, a Sky that had accepted him despite him trying to kill him, and his Sky was stronger than he looked. Keeping him was going to be hard, but he could do hard. If he could survive six years on the streets of Sicily as a freelancer, he could survive more as a Bonded Guardian. Could help teach his Sky not to depend on those bullets (he was going to have to suppress his reflex to just use his Storm Flames on them,  _damnit_ ) and keep him safe. Maybe, just maybe he could have more.


	10. Interlude - Reborn

Fuck.

Fuck, fuck, fuck. He rarely engaged in vulgarities, but this situation justified them  _entirely_. He'd been expecting, anticipating that the two teens would bond quickly. There'd been a reason he'd sent for the silver-haired bomber, and it wasn't just to gain his student a guide to the mafia. But he'd been expecting to see a Storm bond form, not a fucking Cloud. Clouds were  _dangerous_  as senior Guardians, they made the rest of the Mafia twitch violently. Worse, there was another Cloud circling, and he had been so sure there was a bond already beginning to form there.

He wasn’t sure what was worse; that the Cloud bond had formed first, even if it had only been by a fraction of a second, or the fact that the teen he’d been  _convinced_  was a Rain (his father was, and Flames ran in families fairly reliably) had also bonded to his student and was a  _Lightning_. Which meant that he was going to have his hands full dealing with the fallout. It would be worse than fallout that he and Dino had decided to postpone by  _not_  revealing the Cavallone had already bonded both a Storm and a Sun. Everyone just assumed the men were his consiglieres instead, and no one called Dino on the fact he left a trail of chaos in his wake, and that under his command the Cavallone had rearmed themselves, and retaken all their former territory.

Only keeping the fact that his student had bonded a Cloud first was an impossibility with the Vongola; not given the Rings would have to be involved. But he could confuse the issue, and that would keep him entertained.

And as her brother had jumped the gun and bonded himself to his Sky, Bianchi would just have to suck it up and take her lessons alongside his current student. It was her own fault for not arriving in Japan quickly enough.


	11. Interlude - Gokudera

Reborn was glaring at him, something akin to killing intent seeping from him. "Pick up your damn Sky, Smokin' Bomb and follow me." The Sun Arcobaleno turned his head to the baseball idiot, "And you too, Takeshi Yamamoto. We need to have a conversation." He led the way to the Reception Room; the other circling Cloud was asleep on the School roof, which would give him a window to sort this mess out and decide whether to stage another confrontation.

Buoyed by the new bond, more convinced of his self worth by the fact a Sky had _wanted_ him enough to accept him, Hayato placed him on one of the couches gently, and stared back at the Arcobaleno, red-purple flames glowing in his eyes. "What's the anger in aid of, Reborn?" 

"You, Smokin' Bomb. The complications of a Cloud as Tsunayoshi's senior Guardian, and those Rings." Reborn pinched the bridge of his nose. "Your sister is going to make another attempt to kill me, and that says nothing for how paranoid your Flame is going to make the rest of the fucking Mafia."

"A Cloud means the Sky has something to protect." Hayato murmured, remembering old lessons. "But I'm not a Cloud."

"Your bond to my student says -"

"Maa, maa, what are you talking about, baby?" Yamamoto cut in. The Arcobaleno's response was to point the green and black gun at him, and Hayato watched green flames surge into the baseball idiot's eyes.

The stand off was broken by a groan from the couch where he'd laid his Sky. All three heads snapped round, and Hayato could feel his lips curving into an appreciative smile at the sight of orange-brown eyes blinking sleepily.

Reborn swore again at the sight, something about Vongola luck and unreliable sources.


	12. Interlude - Tsunayoshi

Tsuna's body hurt, and snippets of the fight with Gokudera flashed across his mind's eye and he groaned and opened his eyes, groggily.

His eyes met those of the delinquent he'd been fighting, except there was a possessive feeling there now, rather than any fear. He also felt warmer, and clearer headed than he had done since he was little.

The sound of Reborn swearing drew his attention away from the red-purple eyes that had locked with his.

"Reborn, what happened?" He asked, not really expecting an answer, but he had a  _feeling_  that it was important he asked.

"I'm going to kill your father, Tsunayoshi, and I'm going to make it  _slow_  and painful. He can't write an intelligence report to save his  _life_." Tsuna blinked in surprise and then Reborn swore again. "And Timoteo hasn't been able to pull that trick on me since,-" Reborn jaw clicked as he clamped his mouth shut.

"Goku -" he cut himself off when he realised that he could feel the silvret wilt at the usage "Hayato-kun, what's going on?" The use of the other teen's first name was rewarded with what  _felt_  like the bomber perking up. He wasn’t sure  _how_  he knew that, but he did.

"We harmonised, Juudaime." Tsuna twitched, and Hayato's face fell again. "What did I do wrong, Juudaime?"

"You didn't, Hayato-kun, but, call me Tsuna, please?" the silvret nodded. "But harmonised? What does that mean?" Hayato actually face palmed.

"Complicated. The Arcobaleno can probably explain better, but -" the bomber ran his hands through his hair, "- I've seen you in Dying Will Mode. So you know about Flames -" he held his hand up, palm down and lit each ring in turn. "- Cloud, Storm, Lightning, Sun and Rain. I'm missing two. Mist and the one you possess, Sky. The last one is beyond rare; its property is Harmony.”

“So?” If he couldn’t have felt the way the other teen was trying so very hard to explain, he would have been frustrated, as the words he were using didn’t really make sense.

"Skies are -" Reborn had stopped cursing, "- like catnip to a cat. And home, and stability and," he stumbled over his words, and then stopped, mentally flailing. "I don't know how to explain. I'm sorry, Tsuna. You're my Sky. Mine. It's that simple." The earnestness in that statement choked Tsuna long enough for Reborn, who had finally got himself back together.

“Idiota. I hadn’t even explained the Flames to him yet.” His tutor had jumped up onto Hayato’s shoulder, and had a green-and-black hammer in his hand now. “Just accept that Hayato here is now yours. And Yamamoto is as well for that matter. We’ll cover the Flames soon enough.”

His tutor smacked Hayato on the head with the green-and-black hammer and Tsuna  _felt_  it, and his hand caught  _fire_.

"Maa, maa, Tsuna. What's with -?" Yamamoto waved his hand and he could feel the intent behind the gesture; that it included everything that had happened and had been said.

"Are you sure I can't convince you to walk away -" the overwhelming wave of suicidal despondency that swept through him almost swamped Tsuna, "I can't, can I?"

What was his  _life_? First a baby tutor who claimed to be a hitman, then a delinquent with explosives, and now the baseball star was suicidal and clinging to him.

His gut clenched painfully and the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. Which was familiar. "We need to go  _now_."

Before any of them could move, though, the door swung open with a thud, and there was a barked "for crowding in my office, you  _will_  be bitten to death," and the frame filled by the familiar to Tsuna form of the school's prefect.

"Hiiiieeee!" Leon slid down his tutor's arm, reforming into his pistol. Tsuna twitched. "Hibari-san!" A thought curled up from the back of his brain. "I'll bring you a bento with hamburger steak tomorrow if you let us go, Hibari."

"Hn." He stepped to one side, and Tsuna led the way out of the room, ducking the tonfa blow. Which he hadn't expected to do. And also meant that Hibari would be watching him. Damn.


	13. Episode 3 - Arrival - Lambo's Minder

" _Lambo Bovino,_ get  _back_  here, now!“ he hissed. The five year old, who  _still_  insisted on wearing his cow print onesie everywhere just stuck his tongue out at him, and went back to hiding behind under another passenger's seat. He was trying to get to the galley to get another drink or filch some candy.

Normally, he’d leave the kid to his mischief and just pay the other passengers off - it was the easiest way to manage the chaos that the little Lightning and Mist user caused when he was determined to do something - but he'd spotted the fucking Poison Scorpion in the lounge when they'd embarked in Italy, and he had no desire to duck Poison Cooking at thirty thousand feet.

He gave up and stalked down the gangway, and fished his errant charge out from beneath the seat he was trying to crawl under and, holding both the kid’s wrists together, stomped back down the plane. Why, oh why hadn’t he ducked fast enough when the Boss had been looking for minders for his nephew?

Fortunately the plane was fairly empty - including the rows around theirs - so he wrapped the kid up in a blanket, buckled him back into his seat and shoved one of the drugged grape flavoured lollipops he’d been given for emergencies in the boy’s mouth. This counted; there was no way he’d managed to frisk Lambo for all the weaponry he routinely filched from other members of the Familigia - the kid had sticky fingers - and thirty thousand feet was no place to have that confirmed.

He still didn’t know why they were heading for Japan, though.

He sighed and pulled out his own book again. At least he could understand Japanese, which actually, if he thought about it, was probably why he had even been on the Boss's radar for this in the first place; but he was rusty. And.he had one of the Familiga's credit cards and a chequebook to smooth over any issues Lambo managed to cause.

They'd land in a few hours, and then all he had to do was keep the kid from getting into too much trouble, and report back to the Boss occasionally. It'd almost be a vacation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies; I ended up having to give Lambo an OC "minder" to make this work. He won't be a big character, but he is fairly necessary, at least for my sanity; I can't write five year old Lambo to save my life.
> 
> Lambo gains a Mist Flame here, to explain the Afro-hair weapons pocket/hiding place he seems to have in canon.


	14. Episode 3 - Arrival - Bianchi

_I won’t let you get away this time._

A fourteen hour, commercial flight, direct from Italy was  _ridiculous_. And expensive, even in cattle class, and God, it was moments like this that she actually misses being acknowledged as her father’s daughter. Much better to travel that sort of distance on a private jet. Better food, enough leg room and even a bed. She  _ached_.

But Reborn had sent for her, had told her that Hayato was here, in Namimori, and she’d dropped everything to come running. He was still her little brother, perhaps even more so now she’d fled their father, too, and she regretted poisoning him; not that she’d understood she was, not until Reborn had explained it to her. And by then Hayato had become highly elusive.

Their father, their shared parent, was dying, too, and one of them was going to have to take over the Familigia. It was probably her, but if he wanted to do it, she’d step back, but they needed to talk about it, first.

The customs official looked at her passport, Italian, and the fact that she only had a one-way ticket and started to say something. Sighing, she stretched, making her cleavage more obvious, and hit him with her Mist Flame while he was distracted. He stamped her passport, robotically, and ushered her into Japan.

Now to find a hotel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've given Bianchi a Mist Flame to go with her Storm Flame, because she's concealing her poison cooking somehow, given the number of people willing to eat it.


	15. Episode 3 - Intro - Lambo's Minder

_Die, Reborn!_

He was taking that back. Not a vacation, so not a vacation. Lambo was up a fucking tree, and how the hell had he got hold of one of the fucking rocket launchers? The Boss was going to tear a strip off whoever had let the sticky fingered brat get a hold of that. Then the kid's words registered, and oh, Merciful Mother,  _no_. Not a fucking Arcobaleno. Not that  _Arcobaleno_ ; the whole fucking Flame Mafia knew what he was currently contracted to do. Teach. The Vongola's Heir Presumptive. Which meant his charge was pointing a rocket launcher into the house of the Vongola's Young Lion, at his son.

He knew, first hand, that Lambo bounced, and he was too far away to grab the brat. He couldn’t shoot the kid; not the Boss’s nephew, but - he lined up his pistol's sights on the tree branch and fired. His pistol had a silencer on it, so the crack barely registered next to the sound of the tree branch cracking, dumping the brat ten foot onto grass. As he’d expected, there was the faintest green flash as Lambo fell, and though there would probably be bruising, there was nothing obviously broken - except the kid’s sense of self-preservation, but that had been broken for a long time.

Unfortunately someone had noticed the gunshot; a teenager with a ridiculous pompadour hairstyle, who started towards him. Swearing, and hoping the fall would leave Lambo stunned and retreating for a hug and some candy, he turned and left the scene before he’d have to injure a civilian. Not that he was entirely sure the teenager was a civilian, not with the way he moved, but.

_Hold it in ..._


	16. Interlude - Gokudera

It’s lonely, his bed. The apartment he managed to rent isn’t particularly nice, though it’s a roof over his head which is more than he’s had at various points in the past, and it aches, being on his own. He wants his Sky; wants him badly. It’s not even just sex, though he still thinks his Sky is pretty, and wants to bed - and be bedded by - him; but really, he just wants to stay close to that warmth.

Thinking about his Sky produces a predictable result though. He curls onto his side, finding a more comfortable position to deal with the problem. Once he has, he wipes himself off with his discarded t-shirt, and though he’ll regret not cleaning up further in the morning, he suspects, but right now it still feels good, and he wonders, sleepily, if he’ll be able to persuade his Sky to curl up with him at some point.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The more explicit version of this chapter: [one-sided Hayato/Tsuna](http://archiveofourown.org/works/10844877/chapters/24075954)


	17. Interlude - Tsuyoshi

He's not entirely sure what he's feeling when Takeshi arrives home. Not emotionally, but the way his stomach clenches a few moments before his son walks in and the hairs on the back of his neck rise, and the hum in the back of his mind, the one that represents Shigure Kintoki, acquires a pleased pitch. His fingers tighten around the cleaver he's working with and calculates how many steps in will take him to reach his Sword. But it's not a challenger who walks in. It's not the Sword Emperor, having finally found him, but his own son.

His son, whose skin and eyes crackle with Lightning, and whose smile is much less fake than it has been for _months_ ; and who feels like Sky Flames and Shigure Kintoki _wants_. He lets his son's chatter, manic and cheerful wash over him, and tells his Sword to be patient. Takeshi has much to learn before he'll surrender Shigure Kintoki into his hands, and he steers his son's conversation to what has him so bouncy, and is treated to his son leaking Mist and Rain Flames as he babbles.

It takes probing questions and finally a flare of his own Rain Flames, before he extracts the entire mess from Takeshi, his son already unwilling to give up information on his Sky. It takes wheedling and a touch of his Flame before he gets the name of the Sky - but worse, he gets told who is tutoring the Sky. He doesn't recognise the name, but he does recognise the description as Arcobaleno and his skin _crawls_. For the Sky to have an Arcobaleno tutoring him ... he drags his son back into the family dojo. He's not ready to show Takeshi Shigure Soen Ryuu, not until he''s managed to talk to his master about the style and it's interaction with Flames other than Rain, but he can start to get his son's Flames under control.


	18. Episode 3 - Poison Cooking - Haru

_Huh? That cute baby isn’t here today. What a letdown ..._

She pouted; he’d been the only reason she’d taken this route to school this morning. His suit and fedora had been perfectly miniaturised, and he’d worn them so well, that she wanted to know who had made them for him. She wanted help with her cosplay costumes - she’d reached a plateau - and needed an instructor, but there was no-one in this town who would help once she’d explained why she wanted to improve her needlework. She didn’t get their issues with cosplay.

She turned to continue to Midori, but stopped when a pretty lady with pink hair came cycling past. Something about her made Haru curious, and curiosity was one of her most perverse traits, so she stepped behind one of the bushes; perhaps the pretty lady knew something about the baby? She certainly seemed to know Dame-Tsuna, if the smile on her lips was anything to go by.

And Dame-Tsuna was hypnotised by her boobs. Typical boy. She rolled her eyes.

_Here, help yourself._

She watched as the pink haired lady tossed a can to Dame-Tsuna, and shook her head as he fumbled the catch. It was mean of her to call him Dame-Tsuna even in her head, but he really was, wasn’t he? The can hit the floor, bursting open, and then there were birds dropping from the sky and the pink-haired lady was gone.

What the - oh that was so wrong; how did a drink even do _that_? She turned from the scene and ran in the direction of her school; that was as crazy as the running battle she'd seen yesterday, but she had to have been imagining things, right? Otherwise other people would be questioning what they were seeing, too!


	19. Episode 3 - Start of the School Day - Gokudera

Oh hell. Going to sleep without finishing his cleaning up had had an enjoyable effect on his dreams, but it had hurt this morning, and it had left him in an even worse mood. The dull ache only reminded him of what he didn't have - hadn't had last night. It tested his temper, gave it a sharp edge, and he wanted his Sky. Wanted his Sky's Flames to soothe said sharp edges.

But that temper also let him feel the Flames that approached, and open the door, to be greeted by his little Sky. His presence takes the edge off; but it feels so much better, that the greeting, beaten in to him by his father, slips out without conscious control.

 _Good morning, boss!_  
_G-Gokudera-kun! Don’t call me that._

Shit. His Sky did ask him to call him Tsuna, rather than Juudaime, and his disappointment that he hadn't was audible in the way he called him Gokudera rather than Hayato. Though perhaps he could blame that on their audience? He hoped so; his Sky's Flames don't feel angry though, for all they're mostly compressed back beneath that seal again. Mischief lights his eyes, and he purrs his response; two can play to the audience as well as one can.

_No. The tenth is the tenth._

He allows his genuine intentions for the title to be respectful and affectionate to seep through. Whilst his Sky might think he can still evade the position, no one will let him slip out of it, least of all Hayato. Standing on top of their world will be the easiest way to keep him safe. And it's not like he's referring to him as Dame-Tsuna, the way their idiot classmates do.

_But ..._

There's reluctant acceptance underneath that word. Deep under it. Good. His Sky recognises the importance of theatre - at least subconciously.

_Oh, you’re still playing Mafia? Sounds fun. Let me join the Family!_

He wants to snap "No." He wants his Sky to himself for longer, even if a Vongola Sky does need at least one of each of the other Flame Types to stand beside and between him and danger, but this Lightning is as bound to his Sky as he is. He already - from what he has seen in the last few days, anyway - has the obsessive tendencies Lightnings always seem to have. If those tendencies had focused on Tsuna, the way a bonded Lightning's obsessiveness always did on their Sky, it would make him all but impossible to drive off.

He supposed it could be worse; the teen could have been a Rain, or another Storm. At least he was allowed to sharpen his temper and his tongue on a Lightning. It would have been too dangerous to do so on a Storm, and a Rain would wash away the sharpness he needed to keep his Sky safe.

_Y-yamamoto ..._

He wants to snatch his Sky away from the Lightning, who looms over his little Sky. He was first, the Sky is  _his_  and he doesn't want to share, but he can also feel the way the other teen's Flames reach for their Sky, and the loneliness under the facade. It makes him ache in sympathy. Sympathy that he covers by needling the Lightning and stepping closer to their Sky.

_What’s this? You must be after the position of the boss’s right-hand man. I won’t let that happen! I’m the boss’s right-hand man!_

Reborn had even confirmed it, when he complained about him being a Cloud - which had been news to him; his Familiga tended to throw Storms when members went Flames Active, his sister being a case in point - and the fact he was his Sky's senior Guardian, but it got a response from both the Lightning, and his Sky.

 _Come on, let’s stop this whole boss and subordinate business._  
_Stop being such a downer and let me join in. The more the merrier, right?_

He makes apologetic eyes at his Sky; too many people for him not to continue playing the game with the Lightning now it's begun. The other teen's insistence that this is a game is annoying, but it's also entirely consistent with the Mist Flames he felt yesterday - a truth hidden inside a lie that'll keep most from looking too close. There's answering laughter in the Lightning's eyes, and his Sky can only shake his head and sighed the idiota's name.

_Yamamoto ..._


	20. Episode 3 - Start of the School Day - Hana

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was interesting to write; my take on Hana is apparently very snarky and _very_ Kyoko focused. It's also fascinating it came out in first person; that may say something about me ...

_Hey, you’re in the way._

Monkeys. Goddamn monkeys _everywhere_. Kyoko, darling, please stop smiling so sweetly at everyone. If you keep encouraging the monkeys, they'll only keep crowding; and I have no desire to deal with this school's blasted senior prefect and his hatred for crowds this week. Why didn’t I let mother send me to Midori? Oh yes. Kyoko.

_Good morning, Tsuna-kun._

And what does Kyoko see in this one; he’s weak, and he’s ended up half-naked in school three times this week _already_. Which, frankly, is ridiculous, and he’s soon going to find himself nicknamed Hentai-Tsuna rather than Dame-Tsuna, and that’s not an improvement.

_Ky-Kyoko-chan, good morning._

Respectful though. Despite his new habit of nudity. But _still_.

_So is this boy your little brother?_

... Kyoko, they look _nothing_ alike. The kid has black hair and green eyes, and his hair is _ridiculously_ curly. I know you have a brain, darling, why do you refuse to use it? Did your wretched brother knock you out once too often when you were younger?

_When did he ... ?!_

Cousin. Or child of one of his mother’s friends, then, given that he obviously knows it; but still why is it _here_ , and why now? I just want to get into the classroom and sit down, and be out of sight before Hibari-san patrols down this corridor; is that too much to ask?

_What is that thing?_

This is suppose to be a middle school, not a kindergarten; if I wanted to be around small children I’d babysit - and I _don’t_. And oh, ugh, what is _with_ that hair? Is that a packet of sweets stuck in it?

_It’s cute. How old are you, little fella? What’s your name?_

Kyoko, it is _not_ cute. It’s smelly, and sticky and noisy and _not suppose to be here_. Do not encourage the monkeys by getting all maternal over it, please. If the older boys think you’re turning into a yamato nadeshiko, they’re going to be even more insistent about sniffing around you, and they’re already a nightmare.

_Isn’t it a bad idea to bring him to school?_

Get it out of here, please. I don’t want to have to hurt anyone today; though if I have to you’re first, Sawada Tsunayoshi.

_N-no! He isn’t ..._  
_The head of the Disciplinary Committee, Hibari-san!_

It doesn’t matter how it’s related to you, Sawada, just get rid of it. And ugh, Kyoko, stop looking at it like it’s cute; it isn’t. I give up; the demon prefect is coming, you can all just get your heads whacked by him if you want, but I don’t, so I’m taking my seat!


	21. Interlude - Lambo's Minder

He whimpered; it had taken him hours to track Lambo down this morning, only to find that he’d followed the Vongola heir to school, and then he’d walked into this. Why did the brat keep trying to kill the Arcobaleno? Just, why of all things to fixate on did it have to be that? It was unlikely he’d succeed; the Arcobaleno were notoriously hard to kill, and the kid was a Lightning, but still!

 _And_ how in the name of all the Saints in Heaven had the brat managed to get hold of _that_? The Ten Year Bazooka was suppose to be locked up, waiting for him to actually be old enough to use it safely - and, more important, sensibly. It wasn't a _toy_ , for fuck sake. The Boss really was going to kill someone. Yes, the brat had sticky fingers, but there were sticky fingers and then there was _this_.

Shit. Could his luck get any _worse_? Yes, yes it could. The incident that had earned the Poison Scorpion her name was infamous within the Flame Mafia, down to the appearance of the boyfriend she killed, and the kid - or at least his ten years older version - just had to be his spitting image, didn't he.

He was so going to end up dead; if only from stress. Vacation his ass.

... at least the brat hadn’t ruined any chance of their Familiga being allied to the Vongola in the future, though. That was a small mercy, but it would also be news that the Boss would be glad to hear. Especially after he told him about the Bazooka.


	22. Interlude - Gokudera

Okay, his little sky was braver than he'd given him credit when he'd first arrived. Far braver; he had brought a second bento to school with him, and was, despite the way he shook slightly, bound and determined to give it to the Misty bastard who actually ran the school.

Sighing, he trailed after him; if he looked at this logically, it would be better to have such a strong Cloudy Mist looking kindly on his Sky. It was just - he'd rather not share. And the prefect was Cloudy enough that he'd have to share his new-found territory, he suspected. At least the bastard was aesthetically pleasing.

It was all to tempting to step between his Sky and the prefect when they finally found him, but he managed to step on the urge - and the urge to do more than finger his dynamite - and watch as his pretty little Sky bowed respectfully and handed the Bento to the older boy. It was only when he realised that there were Flames in play that he did step forward, and slid his own between the two of them, which earned him a contemplative glance, and a "Hn."

He and his Sky waited for a moment while the older boy opened the bento and tested the hamburger steak; his Sky was twitching ever so slightly, and it left him wondering how long the two of them had ben dancing around each other before he'd arrived.

"Acceptable. Your crowding yesterday is forgiven." His Sky sighed in relief and then the prefect was gone and Tsuna was leading the way up to the roof so they could eat their own lunches.


	23. Episode 3 - Lunch - Gokudera

_Why did you follow us here like it's perfectly natural, baseball freak?_

Was it too much to ask to have his Sky all to himself for at least a little while? He knew he’s managed to upset Reborn’s plans, albeit unintentionally, but _really_. It was so tempting to knock the other Element out; especially when he pulled out a bento full of perfectly made sushi. He didn’t know how lucky he was to have someone who cared enough for him to make sure he was properly fed - yet he was still - ugh he wanted to throw up his hands. His Flames flared, and leaked just a little bit in answer to his frustration and he was amused to watch the other boy squirm.

_Does it matter? Lunch tastes better when you eat it under the blue sky._

The other teen’s Flames flared back at him, copying his action, and he narrowed his eyes, remembering the way the baseball player had responded to his use of Flames the previous day. There was something there, something familiar that he wanted to poke at till he worked out what it was, but then something made the back of his neck prickle.

_Yeah, you're right._

He smiled at his Sky; even without his Flames being free, the smaller teen was trying to _be_ a Sky. Not that it’d stop him and the Lightning needling at each other; that was just something that happened between a Sky’s Elements, but he scooted closer to his Sky anyway. Perhaps he could filch a bit of his bento; the one he’d offered the Head Prefect earlier had looked delicious.

_Th-This is ..._

His Sky went green, his Flames flaring protectively as much as they could, forcing their way past the seal and he could feel his own flaring in response. But while the back of his neck was prickling he couldn’t figure out what the danger was ...

_You shouldn't eat that. One bite will send you to heaven._  
_Reborn!_

... oh, thank fuck for the Arcobaleno. He’d know what the threat was -

No, no, no - not the food. Please not the food. He’d never use poison again, just let it not be the food. His stomach churned, memories threatening to overwhelm him, but he swallowed.

_Come out. I know you're there, Bianchi._

Keep it together, idiota, keep it together. She’s a hitman and you need to protect your Sky. If you can’t face her -

_The lady from this morning! Aniki ..._

Fuck. His stomach  _hurts_.

_Sh-She's your sister?!_


	24. Episode 3 - Lunch - Bianchi

_Come out. I know you're there, Bianchi._

He was good at that, at knowing when she was around; it was one of the delights of working with Reborn. That and his Flames; they were - she shivered - they were warm, and safe. Her brother and two other Flame Actives were out there as well, and she frowned internally. There was something weird about the third kid; he felt -

 _The lady from this morning!_  
_Aniki ..._  
_Sh-She's your sister?!_

She had to roll her eyes at the boys. Really; she and Hayato looked like each other, even with the fact that they were half-siblings. They both looked a lot like their ancestor - even if they’d both ended up with different - and very strange - hair colours - and nothing like their shared genetic donor.

_It's been a while, Hayato._

“And it wouldn’t have been nearly so long if you hadn’t been so elusive, brat. I’ve been trying to catch up to you for _years_.” Was her internal addition to that greeting. Though she did wince when he folded in half upon seeing her; Christ she still felt like shit over what she’d done to him.

_Ciao-su, Bianchi._

She almost laughed out loud at his greeting; she knew he only used it for how similar it sounded to “chaos”, though the purr he put on it for her, recalled it’s older meaning and only added to the image they were lovers. But, it was as much warning as it was greeting -

_Reborn! I've come for you, Reborn. Let's work big hits together again. You belong in the dangerous and thrilling underworld._

She had to try; if he was going to stay here - her Flames flared in annoyance at the thought, and with the way that Hayato’s pushed hers away, and tried to keep her from the third teen, the smallest she realised, “Shit - Hayato’s _bonded_.” She wanted to strangle her former tutor. Couldn’t he have _warned_ her.

_I made it clear, Bianchi. My job is to train Tsuna._

Hmph. That would make two birds with one stone; she knew how Reborn felt about his few students and proteges, and she did need to punish him for the form their current relationship appeared to take to the average person. The boy was a Vongola heir, which meant a Sky, and with Hayato bonded - and it had to be to this Tsuna - she was stuck with taking on the heirship to her and Hayato’s Familiga.

_My poor little Reborn ... So unless the tenth-generation boss dies from an unfortunate accident, you'll never be free, right?_

He’d die, or he’d survive and prove worthy of her little brother. After all, a Sky had their intuition, and if he couldn’t avoid her traps, he wasn’t a very good Sky, was he?

_Huh?!_

She had an idea or three to test on him; she’d seen the girls that were about her brother’s age in the school’s kitchens, earlier. Let’s see how he dealt with her cooking when it came from a _friend_.

_Hold on. I'll ki- I mean, I'll come for you again once the tenth-generation boss is dead._

Your move, Reborn, _darling_.


	25. Episode 3 - Flashback - Gokudera

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The [square brackets] indicate minor modifications to the anime's dialogue, as things start to drift away from canon. It is a very slow drift, though!

_I’m sorry, [Tsuna] ..._

He wanted to curl up in a tight little ball, but the cramps in his stomach wouldn’t let him. God it’s been so long since he last saw his sister he’d forgotten just how much doing so _hurt_. Why did she have to come here? Why did she have to threaten _his_ Sky - was she still jealous? But _why_ ? As a bonded Guardian he’d just succeeded in placing himself completely out of the Familiga’s line of succession, so it wasn’t even as if he was a threat to her anymore.

_Are you okay, [Hayato-kun]?_

The hand on his forehead, and the tiny amount of Sky Flames his Sky was leaking - goddamn Seal, and goddamn whoever thought it was a good idea - helped, soothing his own Flames. Which, fuck, that meant he probably needed Shamal’s help, and that Bianchi had done actual damage to his Flames - was that why he was a Cloud, not a Storm?

_I've shamed myself. Whenever I see Aniki's face ..._

He owed his Sky an explanation, but - but it was hard putting how fucked up his home life was into words, and harder still to acknowledge that he’d been on his own for _years_ because it was better than the other options. That he’d chosen starvation, and being beaten and nearly raped more than once, over what an outsider would think was a cushy life as a Familiga’s heir.

_What are you talking about?_

He closed his eyes. He wasn’t going to be able to do this if he had to see the pity in his Sky and his fellow Guardian’s faces. Reborn had to know most of this story; he’d been Bianchi’s tutor for a while, but he doubted he knew it all.

_When I was six, there was a grand party at our castle._

He could see it, actually, with his eyes closed. Of course he hadn’t understood why they lived in a castle then, or why there were always armed men around them, but with hindsight ...

_Castle?! [Hayato-kun's] actually rich?!_

... he nearly snorted. He wasn’t rich; his Familiga was nothing compared to the one his Sky would command if he had his way. He’d left. Walked out. And yes, he’d stolen the Rings when he left, but their Familiga hadn’t had a Sky for so long that they’d just been left in a display case. It was his sperm donor’s fault for not securing them properly - and they had helped him to survive, which is what they were suppose to be for, wasn’t it? To help the blood thrive?

_I was supposed to play the piano for everyone._

He missed the piano. He really did, but he hadn’t played since he’d left; his father had killed his love for the instrument when -

_That was when Aniki baked cookies for me for the first time._

She’d smiled so - she was trying to be nice - but he curled in on his still aching stomach as it cramped at the thought of that smile.

_I found out later that Aniki had the talent to turn everything she made into poison cooking._  
_How does that even work?!_

But not for years and years. Not until Shamal had come to tend to the women he’d thought was his mother and had realised what was going on the household. And had explained to him that his sister’s Flames had manifested in an unusual way. Storm Flames that made the food poisonous, and Mist Flames so no-one realised that the food was _wrong_.

_Naturally, my performance was absolutely horrible. [But because I was my father’s heir, everyone thought it was just avant garde, and applauded.]_

He swallowed. He’d had dreams before then, of getting to be a concert pianist, of playing at the highest level - of being like the beautiful lady who’d taught him to play, but those had been silly, childish dreams. They belonged to the child who hadn’t known what his father _was_ \- still is.

_Encouraged my father organised more recitals for me._

Anything to make his _bastard_ heir more popular.

_From then on, I was forced to eat Aniki’s cookies before every performance. The horror of it all has stuck with me. Just the sight of her makes my stomach lurch ..._

She seemed to enjoy watching him eat them - and his subsequent performances - so much that before too long he couldn’t stand to see her. By the time he ran, it had reached the point where she didn’t even need to have food in hand before he felt ill at the sight of her.

_What a tragedy!_

His Sky's sympathy felt good.


	26. Episode 3 - Poison Cooking - Yamamoto

He doesn’t quite understand what’s going on - it’s not that he’s stupid, but things go over his head unless he’s concentrating _hard_ when they’re explained. He does know that this isn’t a game, but after his conversation with his Dad the previous evening, he understands that making everyone else think this is one is perhaps the safest option. And the way Tsuna’s looking at that cake - after what happened at lunchtime - makes the back of his neck prickle. Gokudera would know what to do, but he’s still in the nurse’s room, so he does the only thing he can do. He steps between Tsuna and the perceived danger.

_Oh, that looks good. Can I have one?_

Perhaps it’s a little unfair of him to dazzle the girl that Tsuna’s crushing on right in front of him, but he’s not afraid to use all the weapons in his arsenal. Not to keep the other teen safe. He can already tell his priorities are re-orientating around him; less than a week ago his main two priorities were baseball and keeping his Dad happy, but now -

_Sure._

He lifted the cake from Kyoko’s plate - and that touch confirmed what he’d suspected, but not the how. It felt _wrong_ under his fingers, like there was something moving in it, but appeared completely normal. And hadn’t Tsuna just said something about Gokudera’s sister, the one who used poisons?

_No! I'm sorry, Kyoko-chan._

That was when Tsuna _moved_ and he half expected to see the fire again, or for him to be half-way naked, but he wasn’t; his Flames were trying, but they were trapped behind something. He nearly bit into the cake, before Tsuna batted it away. It was more important somehow that Tsuna didn’t eat it; it wasn’t as if he was important, after all. Not compared to Tsuna; not if everything his Dad and Gokudera and the Baby had said was true.

≤Deathperation Shot≥

He tracked the two shots, one red, the other indigo back to - the Baby was perched on a branch outside, dismantling a rifle, and he winked at him. One of the shots had hit Tsuna’s head, and there was the orange fire that kept calling to him; the other his belly and -

_Re-born! Eat the cake like my life depends on it! Delicious!_

He caught a glimpse of what the cake must of looked like to Tsuna just before the other teen ate it; purple and with moving _things_ and Kami, that explained why it had felt like it was moving under his fingers.

_My poison cooking isn't working?!_

He shot a glare at Gokudera’s sister once he spotted her. He heard her mutter first, as he’d been listening for it. She was hidden in amongst their female classmates, touching cakes here and there, and now he was looking more carefully, they were all turning a sickly purple just after she did. How dare she try and kill Tsuna again? Didn’t she understand? And to try and use Kyoko, too? That was cruel.

_I need more!_

His Dad had said he’d try and help him with his Flames, but that they’d need to find someone else to help too - they only shared one colour - type - what ever you wanted to call it, but that if all else failed, _wanting_ something badly enough was often sufficient. And right now he _wanted_ this to seem normal to his classmates. Normal enough that Tsuna wouldn’t get beaten up for stealing everyone’s cakes, anyway.

_No! My cake! Hey! What are you doing?! Sawada's eating it all! SAWADA!_

Indigo consumed his vision, and he felt exhausted. Like he’d just trained with Kyoko’s older brother, and it was all he could do to not collapse the spot, but rather than turn on Tsuna, his classmates were all just thanking the girls for the cakes they hadn’t eaten, and he sighed in relief. He was going to have to skip out on baseball practise this evening, though.


	27. Interlude - Hibari

He rose from his chair at the back of his own classroom, radiating killing intent. His own classmates ignored him, as did his teacher; theirs was a hard won tolerance for his foibles; one he had literally beaten into a few of them.

There was something _wrong_ , somewhere in his Territory and he stalked towards the source; he could feel the Flames even from here, and he growled under his breath. This is _precisely_ why he'd banned his Uncle from visiting Namimori as soon as he'd been allowed to. Multiple Flame Users meant _chaos_ , and that unsettled him and bought the Mist Flame he hated closer to the surface.

And the source of those Flames was - he turned onto the corridor where the seventh graders classrooms were. Of _course_ it was Sawada. The younger teen was in the process of finding his spine and his Flames again. Not that he’d understood that losing them was what had made the boy so meek, when he’d been so interesting before the loss. He was sorely tempted to drive the younger teen out of his territory before he wrought anymore havoc, but something was stopping him. And it wasn’t just the food he’d been bribed with.

Sighing he allowed his tonfas to drop into his hands, and stalked forward just in time to see a pink-haired woman, who had no place in his Territory, for all she bore a strong resemblance to the new delinquent in Sawada’s class. At least he could vent his frustrations on her; she was Flame Active and therefore entirely fair game. It was a while since he’d had a decent fight.


	28. Interlude - Bianchi & Reborn

She folded, exhausted and aching into the chair in her hotel room.

“I know you’re there, Reborn.” She could feel the furnace of his Flames, even though the pacifier muted them; years of working with him had honed that skill out of self-defence.

“Ciao-su, Bianchi,” he raised an eyebrow. “You look like you’ve been in a fight.”

“I think I met your newest student’s Cloud.” She rolled her neck, listening to it crack, and prodded a bruise from a tonfa hit she’d failed to dodge.

“You have met Tsuna’s Cloud, but he does seem to have a second one circling him, too - that’s who was chasing you; he’s Fon’s nephew - or possibly his grandson, I’m not entirely sure.” He jumped up onto her shoulder and allowed his Flames to leak as much as they would with the pacifier in place. She melted under their heat.

“Hayato’s his Cloud.” She sat bolt upright, only not dislodging him because her hand had shot up to support him on reflex.

“But - he’s a Storm - it runs in the family.” She spluttered. “He _can’t_ be a Cloud. Not my Hayato.” She slumped back down. “But that’s just it. He’s not the kid I remember, is he?”

“No. He’s spent six years as a freelancer, Bianchi - he’s earned his Name, too.” He said gently. “Now. As you’re here, and you need to learn how to run your Familiga - as your little brother is my student’s senior Guardian, and therefore ineligible - I want to offer you a contract.” His tone became more businesslike, but there was still an underlying softness. “But, and this is important, Bianchi, only if you _want_ to stay.”

She swallowed. “I do.”

He slid down into her lap, and let her hug him; the position allowed him to heal the rib Fon's nephew had cracked. "Good girl. Now. Nana Sawada needs a bodyguard, -"


	29. Episode 3 - Second Tutor?! - Bianchi

_[Hayato]-kun! Wh-Why are you here?_

He really was Hayato’s Sky; she knew they’d only known each other for a couple of days, but the way her little brother turned to her mentor’s newest student told her a _lot_. But there was something - she resolved to ask Reborn about it later.

_For love. For work._

Both true. She preferred her answer, though. Even if it did play into the relationship she and Reborn often portrayed in front of civilians - that of an obsessive and ditzy mother of a toddler. She was here in Japan because she wanted to be; because being where Reborn was more fun than Italy would be without him, and because she wanted to reconnect with her little brother and to make sure his Sky was good enough for him. The work, which would allow her to quietly help Hayato, too, was just a bonus.

_Reborn can’t do anything without me._

She was sorely tempted to stick her tongue out at her mentor, but she didn’t. The truth in the statement would needle at him; there was only so much Reborn could do with the little Sky if he also needed to guard his mother - what was Sawada senior thinking, leaving the two of them here unguarded?

_Bianchi will be serving as your tutor for a number of subjects._

And if the little Sky upset her brother, well there was also a short sharp bout of food poisoning to teach him a lesson, wasn’t there?


	30. Interlude - Gokudera

"I'm sorry Tsuna." His sister and her Arcobaleno had left the room, and he was starting to feel a bit better, but his Flames were still roiling under his skin, which felt two sizes too small. He reached out to his Sky cautiously; the damn Seal -

"Can I help, Hayato-kun?" He really didn't deserve Tsuna. He really didn't.

"Just let me lean against you for a little bit, please?" That came out more pitiful than he'd intended. "Your Flames are helping, but -"

His Sky untucked his legs, and leaned back against his bed frame. While he didn’t say anything, his body language was open, and the position was stable enough that he could chose his position for his own comfort. He ended up with his head in his Sky’s lap, and though it took a little while, the other teen’s hand started to absently card gently through his hair. It was almost enough to make him purr, and it felt like -

“I do love her - my sister, I mean. It’s our father I hate, I just -“ the hand continued to play gently with his hair. He could actually feel his Sky’s Flames like this; they were a gentle blanket that made the world hurt less.

His Sky made a soft amused snort - it almost made him indignant till - “I’m not actually sure where my father is. I haven’t seen him for - two, three years? - maybe more. I think kaasan is,-” he sighed. “We’re a pair.” The hand stopped carding through his hair, and he made a quiet grumpy sound.

“Tsu-kun! Dinner!”


	31. Interlude - Lambo's Minder

"Flame Actives are valuable. Flame Actives are valuable." That had become his mantra over the past few days. Along with "The Boss loves his nephew. No, really, he does." Except he suspected that if the Boss was the one trying to wrangle his nephew in a foreign country when the brat had an obsession - an obsession like _trying to kill an Arcobaleno_ , for fuck sake - he wouldn't be quite so willing to spoil his sister's orphaned child.

He made a grab for Lambo, and missed; in the moment it took him to recover his balance, the little pest had bounced up to the Young Lion's front door, rung the doorbell and gotten himself invited in for dinner. He sighed and slid down the wall. He needed help - and a vacation from this 'vacation'. Perhaps they could hire the Varia to ride herd on the brat? It might be overkill, but it would keep him out of harm's way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with that, Episode 3 is complete!


	32. Episode 4 - Haru's Introduction - Haru

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with this Chapter, the events covered in Episode 4 begin!

_Um, would you be my friend?_

She curses herself; that's not what she'd intended to say! She'd rehearsed that over and over and yet that was what slipped out?! She sounded like an idiot, and no one ever just said yes to being her friend. The few friends she'd had when she was younger either drifted away, or were just using her for better grades.

_Sure._

... she had to have misheard him. She had to! No one ever just wanted to be her friend. Maybe this meant he would introduce her to his costumer? She'd be happy if she could have that much before this all went wrong on her.

_Hey!_

And Dame-Tsuna's indignant cry suggested that she had heard right. Ha! Go her! Her happiness made her want to bounce - which probably wasn't the best idea on a six foot high wall but she was so _happy_!

She was right, but all those hours of gymnastics actually paid off! She turned the mis-bounce into a flip and landed it and was she amazing, or _what_? And to think her father had wanted her to just concentrate on academics!

_Yay! I, uh, know this out of the blue but would you let me hug you?_

He was such a little cutie, and she was so happy that she just wanted to squee and hug him! Maybe she could finally get someone to help with her costumes!


	33. Episode 4 - Haru's Introduction - Reborn

_I'm a hitman, you know._

He's a troll at heart. Thirty years of creeping boredom will do that to a man. Especially one trapped in the body of a toddler; for all he and Bianchi sometimes played pretend in front of mafioso to confuse them, he hadn't been able to enjoy anything sexual since the curse. It leaves causing upheaval in the Flame Mafia as one of his primary sources of amusement. And something about this girl is promising - he'd looked into her when he realised she'd been following his student to school. Bright, lonely, and her father had one of his Flame-related mathematical thesis on his bookshelf, which suggested she wasn't as civilian as she looked.

_Hey, Reborn! You shouldn't say that!_

His student's plaintive cry amuses him; when would the boy learn that he was a rule unto himself? Even the Vindice didn't enforce omerta on the Arcobaleno; they were free to bring in anyone they chose to - especially when finding appropriate Elements for a Sky. Not that she would be one of Tsuna's Elements, he already had a Lightning, damn him, but his Cloud needed another bright child around to push him, and she might suit his former student. And if he'd read her right ...

_[Haru slaps Tsuna]_

... which he had, bringing her in would be entertaining for him, and confusing for Tsuna. And he did his best work when his students were confused. Misdirection was a _wonderful_ tool.

_You're despicable! What are you teaching this baby?!_

This was going to be _amusing_. And an important lesson for Tsuna - and his Guardians.


	34. Interlude - Lambo's Minder

He was going to end up with an ulcer. And this was going to put him off _ever_ procreating. Or least ever procreating if there was _any_ chance a child of his would be Flame Active. Not if Lambo was anything to go by, at least. The brat was impossible - and he bounced. Stuff that would put any normal kid in hospital he barely noticed, and no matter how often he frisked him for weaponry, there was always _one more_ item in that afro of his. 

And now Lambo was swinging from ropes, in public, and throwing fucking grenades at the Arcobaleno? God damnit, what did he have to do to stop the kid's stunts? And why had no one tried medicating him yet? At least the kid's Mist Flames meant that he had the equivalent of a "someone-else's problem" field covering him, but that didn't mean there wasn't the chance of civilian casualties or property damage, and there was a group of teens - not the group around the Arcobaleno, but a second one that seemed to come running at the first hint of trouble.

At least there was none of them around right now, and by the looks of things, the Arcobaleno was in the process of dragging the only civilian present into the nuclear Family forming around the new Vongola Decimo. But still, he would get his ass kicked from here to Sicily if the brat managed to injure the baby Sky! And what would happen if he killed him wasn't worth thinking about.


	35. Episode 4 - Maths Test - Gokudera

_Gokudera Hayato. You scored 100 on the math test._

Thank Primo. He'd been genuinely worried he'd got an answer wrong - or worse, missed writing something in Italian. And he hadn't actually _taken_ a test since ... actually, had he ever actually had to take a test? He didn't remember having to do so with his tutors. This attending school thing sucked, but Tsuna needed a bodyguard, and it could have been so much worse.

_Whoa. That's amazing, [Hayato-kun]._

He preened at the awe in Tsuna's voice, and if he'd had a tail, it would have been wagging at the fact that Tsuna had just used his first name, in class! That was even better than having taken his first academic test successfully!

_Nah, this is nothing._

But he couldn't let that pleasure show, could he. Not when he was portraying - or trying to portray - a delinquent. And fuck, he probably shouldn't have scored so high on that, should he. Damn it. He fucked up.

_Sawada Tsunayoshi, Yamamoto Takeshi._

He cocked his head curiously. He got telling the class about high scores, but judging by the grumbling he'd heard from Juudaime's direction after he'd handed his paper in, there was no way he'd gotten above 60 - which reminded him, he was going to have to see if Reborn needed help tutoring Tsuna. Or if he had some more advance materials that he could read himself because otherwise he was going to get so fucking bored.

_Yes? Yeah?_   
_20 points. A failing grade means that you'll be assigned special homework._

Oh, that was so much shit. Who thought humiliating the Boss was a good idea? His fingers itched for his dynamite. Stupid fucking preachy teacher. Mustn't kill civilians without a contract, must not. Damn it, school was _hard_. Why couldn't Reborn just home-tutor him and Tsuna?


	36. Episode 4 - The Walk Home - Yamamoto

_Hey. Tsuna, wanna do the homework together? It should go faster with two people._

He could do Maths. He could. Nezu just wouldn't let him get up and move, and that meant none of what he taught _stuck_. His dad had called it being a "kinetic" learner, and he remembers his mom laughing, vetoing his dad's desire to put a sword in his hands and teaching him to play baseball instead. He still played for her - it was one more way for him to hold onto her memory.

_Huh? Let's do that!_

His Flames danced happily; his Dad said they'd do that when he pleased his Sky - and he could see Tsuna's Flames trying to reach back to him, past whatever it was that had them tied up. He'd tried to explain it to his dad, and he'd said that he would have to ask some questions, but that whatever it was was _wrong_. And then he'd mumbled something about being glad his son had a good Sky, especially with Lightning Flames that he probably wasn't suppose to have heard.

_Okay then, do it at our place._

He didn't jump. He was quite pleased by that; his Dad had had him practising with the new senses he'd acquired, and whilst he hadn't actually spotted Reborn before he popped up, he had known he was somewhere nearby. And not taking Tsuna back to Takesushi was quite okay with him; he wasn't sure if he wanted to introduce his Sky to his father _yet_.

_Down here._

The weight of the Sun Flames increased, and his hand itched for his baseball bat; the Arcobaleno was the other thing that his dad had explained when he'd mentioned the toddler with the glowing pacifier. None of the not-toddlers were anything like safe.

_[Reborn sheds plant disguise]_

Not that he'd be any match for one of them, not yet. Maybe not ever, but he wanted to keep Tsuna, which meant keeping him alive - which made him uneasy around Reborn. It wasn't as if Tsuna himself held the Arcobaleno's contract, so what would happen if the contract holder's interests changed?

_Why do you get to decide where we do homework?!_

Because he's your tutor Tsuna. Please don't aggravate the nice Arcobaleno. Smile, Takeshi; he's not a threat. Not yet. But maybe it's time to get Dad to teach you the sword, yes? Even the Arcobaleno can't survive decapitation.


	37. Episode 4 - The Walk Home - Reborn

_Down here._

Oh, that was interesting. He'd expected to startle both the boys; Tsuna's intuition wasn't sharp enough to pick up on him when he was costumed. Not yet, anyway. But Takeshi had obviously been aware that he was somewhere nearby, which suggested some sort of Flame sensitivity or training. And the way the boy's hand twitched - he frowned.

_[Reborn sheds plant disguise]_

The spike of killing intent, and the swirling of active Lightning Flames when he revealed himself ... what was the teen hiding? Not that he disagreed; in his position with a bonded Sky, he'd probably be put on edge by a suddenly appearing Arcobaleno, but for a civilian, that wasn't a normal response.

_Why do you get to decide where we do homework?!_

He mentally rolled his eyes at his student. This was going to get old fast; there were things that he would allow the boy to fight him on and then there were things he wouldn't. And having him in a secure environment - where Bianchi was on guard, while he figured out what was going on with Takeshi was not something he would permit argument about. Not when the reports on the teen's father said that he'd given up the lifestyle and raised his child as a civilian.

_Because I'm your tutor._

Not his best line, but he wasn't ready to explain threat assessments to Tsuna yet. Not when they would also involve explaining how even friends could be dangerous and the high probability his father was an idiot.

_Hey! Tsuna, you've sure got yourself a great tutor!_

Takeshi Yamamoto, was an interesting child. He could feel that Mist Flame spike; was that why everyone appears to be ignoring the chaos around Tsuna? Perhaps Bianchi should tutor him a little ...

_I also called Gokudera._

And that killing intent spike. This would have been so much easier if he was a Rain. Then things would have been calmer; but no, he had to be a Lightning. At least their bickering would encourage Tsuna's Flames to push past the seal.

_Well, that'll help, since he's smart._


	38. Episode 4 - Homework - Hayato

_Welcome._

He trailed his Sky into the messy bedroom with the fish on the door; the mess was different from the night that Reborn had told them that aniki was staying on as one of Tsuna's tutors. There was weaponry buried in odd corners, and at least two tripwires that he leant down and dismantled. And there were a number of scorch marks, too. At least the drinks look untampered with, and his Sky was relaxed being in his own space - even if there was evidence that Reborn used it too. Which was probably a nightmare for Tsuna, but it was just sensible for him to have a guard; at least until he was unsealed. Even then, his Sky'd need at least one Guardian nearby at all times. If only for his peace of mind.

_Hey, so this is your room?_

Ha. So he had been the first Guardian to get into his Sky's bedroom! And it probably meant that he was the only person to have got Tsuna fussing over him that way. He preened mentally. Now how to show the baseball idiot what he's missing. Hmm.

_Well, make yourselves at home._

Tsuna really shouldn't tempt him; his apartment is cold and lonely, and he'd be entirely to happy to move into his Sky's room. And then the Arcobaleno could move out and maybe he could actually sleep - just sleep! Though he'd be open to other possibilities if his Sky wanted him to be. (And he'd be warm and safe.)

_I'll do just that._

His eye twitched, and he nearly hit the idiot Lightning with a spark of his own Lightning.

That was just a formality, idiota! And you _have_ a home; it even contains a sane parent. I _don't_. If either of us gets to -

_It sure helps that [Hayato-kun] is a good student._

He went back to preening under his Sky's praise. The other street kids had been right; being praised by your Sky was the _best_ feeling. (Well the best feeling shy of sex done right, which made him wonder about what being praised by his Sky _while_ they were having sex would be like. That thought made him shiver; a pleasant tickly sensation that had his Flames dancing beneath his skin and trying to reach for his Sky.

_Who'da thought it?_

Goddamn the Lightning. He narrowed his eyes at Yamamoto. Laxatives. He could put laxatives in his sports drink. That would serve the idiota right. Perhaps before one of his bigger games? He could play the long game. How dare he suggest that he was as thick as the Lightning!

_Shut up! I, Gokudera Hayato, will do anything to help Juudaime become a strong Mafia boss!_

Including teaching you diplomacy, you fucking idiot Lightning!

_Hey, you're too loud!_

... Fuck. He was, wasn't he. But it wasn't his fault. The stupid Lightning was needling him! He pouted mentally, then stretched his senses. Humph. Maybe he needed to stop needling him first; the idiota was behaving more like a Mist than a Lightning right now, given the layer of Mist Flames they were wrapped in. Fuck, he was strong if that wasn't his Primary. Unless he'd been trained? But he could have sworn the other was a civilian. What the ever-loving fuck?


	39. Episode 4 - Homework - Haru

_Birds of a feather flock together! A couple more shady characters have shown up!_

And shady characters that didn't make any _sense_ , she whined mentally. Hadn't the silver-haired one been chasing Sawada with dynamite less than a month ago? And the dark-haired one was Nami-chuu's star baseball player! Nothing about this made sense. Even if it was some sort of game, why those three - and why had they included _two_ toddlers in it?

_Shut up! I, Gokudera Hayato, will do anything to help Juudaime become a strong Mafia boss!_

"Juudaime?" She mouthed the word. Why was the loud silvret calling Sawada _Tenth_? That made no sense. It meant that if it was a game, it was an old and a long running one to have Sawada preparing to be the tenth boss - and she'd have heard of a game like that on the forums she visited. It would have been on one of the LARP boards - or even the urban legends one she visited occasionally, wouldn't it? A shiver went up her spine.

_Hey, you're too loud!_

The world when a little bit fuzzy, for a moment. It was almost like there was a sea mist coming in, only there wasn't.

_This is definitely a bad environment for Reborn-chan. Hang in there, Reborn-chan. I'm coming to save you!_

She was in the game now, for better or worse. Maybe the boys wouldn't mind so much if she played the enemy, just for a little while? That way they'd let the toddlers stop playing. She'd seen both of them holding what looked like really realistic guns, and she did object to that. What if Hibari-sama saw them and bit them to death? He _hated_ it when people broke his rules.

_Eek!_

She hadn't expected there to be an adult home! She'd watched the weird lady with pink hair leave the house with the afro-haired toddler and a shopping bag just a few minutes earlier - and one of Hibari-sama's minions had been following them. Which made sense if this game wasn't really a game. She shivered again, but smiled at the nice woman who made her think of a kitsune? Why did she do that? There wasn't -

_Are you one of Tsuna's friends?_

She rolled her eyes mentally at the woman. Why would she be trying to sneak into the house if she was _Sawada's_ friend?

_No, I'm his enemy!_

She smiled at the woman, with her best innocent little girl smile; the one that said she was harmless and sweet and strongly implied she was playing make-believe. The one that she'd developed when people started to disapprove of her cosplay hobby and the way she paid attention to her surroundings.

_Huh?_

Kitsune. Trying to trick her. She had to be. One of the boys upstairs had just shouted about the Mafia, and she'd seen them playing with Reborn-chan and Lambo-chan with what looked like grenades in the garden, but she knew the magic words!

_I’m on Reborn's side._


	40. Episode 4 - Homework - Takeshi

_Once I've read the textbook, it isn't that hard._

... And actually, it's kinda nice to be doing my homework _with_ other people. He added, mentally. Normally the only time people _wanted_ to be around him was when he was _being_ Takeshi-the-star-baseball-player. Not Takeshi-the-student. They just wanted to talk about baseball all the time, and he loved baseball - but it wasn't the only thing he loved. And he didn't play baseball to be popular, he played it to remember his mom.

_Th-that's the right answer._

He stuck his tongue out at Gokudera mentally, and then grumbled to himself about Nezu-sensei having it out for Tsuna; it was getting really obvious, but he didn't know what to do. At least if he failed the subject and could show his Dad that he understood the stuff it was just Nezu-sensei that was the problem, his Dad might talk to the principal.

_Still, I had no clue what problem seven was talking about._

It felt like a trick question, but. He didn't quite trust that it was.

_So you're still an idiot, Yamamoto. Right, boss?_

His Flames roiled at that, and it was only Tsuna's face dropping that stopped him from lashing out at the silver-haired explosives nut. The seventh question _made no sense_. Had he even read it? He fumed. Stupid Italian. Perhaps he'd let slip to one of the DC that Gokudera was the one smoking on the school grounds.

_I don't understand half of the problems, let alone number seven._

Okay, maybe he wouldn't. Not with the way Gokudera's Flames had just folded in on themselves and crumpled, for want of a better word. The other teen was almost as fucked up as he was. And that was saying something - he cut off that train of thought.

_B-boss, let's show your true strength by solving problem seven!_


	41. Episode 4 - Homework, Interrupted - Hayato

_I've brought snacks!_

He thinks for a long moment that he's about to look up and see his sister. The chirpy "I've brought snacks" reminds him of her bringing him a plate of her 'cookies' before a recital. Only the presence of Tsuna - his Sky, who he needs to protect, the rings on his fingers and the dynamite in his pocket keep him in the here and now long enough to register that it's not his aniki.

_What?! Wh-Why are you ... ?!_

He's not the only one dealing with surprise at the intrusion of a girl into his Sky's bedroom; his Sky is flummoxed too, and it makes his Cloud surge - and oh, fuck, now he understands how he's a Cloud Guardian. The surge of possessiveness, of wanting to drive off the threat is overwhelming. Which makes fuck all sense; why is she triggering that response when the Misty bastard hanging around the school didn't?

_I'm keeping an eye on you to make sure that Reborn-chan isn't affected by your bad influence._

His flames calm abruptly at her declaration. His Sky's bemusement helps too; helps him label her as not-threat. She's a victim of one of Reborn's games, he starts to suspect; especially as his Sky seems to recognise her despite her school uniform not being a Nami-chuu one.

_And that's suppose to explain the outfit?_

He manages to make the words calm; derisive, not defensive and mentally congratulates himself. Killing a civilian woman in his Sky's bedroom, unnecessarily, would be very poor behaviour on his part.


	42. Episode 4 - Homework, Interrupted - Takeshi

_So, Tsuna, you know someone from Midori Middle?_

He wants to poke the girl in question. There's something odd about her. She's nearly awake, he wants to say; she's so close and he wants to poke her till she _is_. Especially since she'll have fire like his if she wakes up. And that would mean that he had someone else to practise with.

_Huh? You mean Midori Middle, as in that super strict and elite girls' school?_

Yes, that one. The one that it makes no sense for Tsuna to have a friend at, given it was on the opposite side of town and only two or three of the girls from their kindergarten had gone there. And if they went there they were brighter than Gokudera, too.

She's nodding, so yes his identification of the uniform was correct.

_Maybe she can solve problem seven!_

He still thinks that problem seven is a trick, though he can't quite figure the trick out and it'll annoy him till he does. And he's still miffed with Gokudera for both the idiot comments _and_ making Tsuna feel so inadequate. He hated that sensation and he didn't want to inflict it on anyone else, so where did the Italian get off on doing so?

_Fine. But, if I solve this problem, you can no longer have anything to do with Reborn-chan!_

He rolls his eyes; Reborn was an Arcobaleno, and according to his dad that made him something akin to a natural force. And he'd attached himself to Tsuna - which meant that he wasn't going anywhere. At least not for a girl who was no older than them and couldn't even access her Flames.

_Well that's for Reborn to decide._

Have you even _asked_ him about this?

_Interesting. Solve it, then, if you can!_

At least this might be amusing, watching her and Gokudera go toe-to-toe with each other intellectually - he suspected that it had been a long time since the silver haired teen had to deal with someone who was his intellectual equal, _and_ was the same age.


	43. Episode 4 - Homework, Unsolved - Haru

_I'm sorry. I can't solve it!_

She waits for someone to shout at her, to hit her, to reject her for not being able to answer the question. It stings; she had staked keeping Reborn-chan safe on it, but there was also the fact that her father would be disappointed - and she was only any use to people if she got the answers right.

_What was all that talk about being able to solve it, you deceitful vixen?_

Even if she was expecting it, had hunched in on herself mentally, it still _hurt_.

_I said that I've seen this problem! I never said I could solve it! Yet you're calling me a liar!_

She flinches; she wasn't suppose to get defensive. She wasn't. It didn't make things any better! It really didn't, and what was worse was she could feel the tears prickle and it made her want to hit the silver-haired delinquent. Even if she had seen him throwing what had looked _a lot like dynamite_.

_You shouldn't make her cry._

_Yeah, Gokudera-kun._

She perks up; it's beyond unusual for people to defend her. She's used to being easy game, and yet she has _two_ of the boys defending on her from the third. She's _confused_.

_A member of the Mafia should treat women with the utmost care._

Reborn-chan! Except -

The chameleon in his hands changed form again, sliding into the form of a hand gun, and then smoothly into a bouncy ball and back again, and she wants to rub her eyes; there's something weird going on. Put that together with the explosives and the poison and -

_U-Uh, sorry._

The line of thought gets abruptly hard to chase, and she dismisses it, and just appreciates the apology. She doesn't get those very often.


	44. Interlude - Bianchi & Lambo's Minder

She drags the observer back into the kitchen by his collar. He's too terrified of her to resist. He's all of two or three years older than she is, and nowhere near as capable. But he's been watching the house and with the contract Reborn got her to sign, that makes him fair game for her to 'play' with.

For all that what people know her best for is her Poison Cooking - and that says something, considering she's only seventeen - she's capable of more nuances with her food that just 'destroy'. She can produce all sorts of interesting effects with it. And she has a poison sweet smile, too. Very few people successfully refuse the food she gives them if she gives it with _intent_.

It's part of what makes her so dangerous.

By the time Nana gets back in from the errand she was running, he's sitting at the table, hands wrapped around a mug of hot, sweet tea, shakes mostly gone. She introduces him as Lambo's minder, and Nana coos at him, and pulls out baby photos.

(She glares at him over Nana's shoulder, killing intent swamping the room. She doubts he'd be stupid enough to offend the Mama of the Vongola Decimo, but just in case - she twirls a purple tinted bagel on her finger in warning.)


	45. Episode 4 - Homework & Poison Cooking - Takeshi

_I've brought some night snacks. You won't let me in?_

He swallowed; Reborn hadn't chased her off, which meant that she wasn't going to kill them all. Probably. Maybe. His dad had said that in theory Lightning Flames - his primary type - and Mist Flames - his Secondary - could both be used to deal with Poison Cooking. But that he'd need training with both - or to be truly desperate. Which he would be if Bianchi started throwing her Poison Cooking around, so.

_Yo!_

So playing nice, but being wary it was. He wasn't stupid; he doubted everything she could use was actually lethal, but he still had no desire to test it out. Especially after Reborn's comment about teenage Lambo 'probably' surviving.

_Don't just sit there saying hello!_

He wanted to shake Gokudera. Why did he deliberately wind up his sister? The older teen was a Named Hitman, too - and had demonstrated just how potentially dangerous she was. Did he have no sense of self preservation, or was his family ties to her blinding him?

_Hayato, you're too conscious of me as the opposite-sex._

Takeshi blinked. That wasn't the problem. He could tell that wasn't the problem. Not with the way Hayato had eyes only for Tsuna. He doubted Gokudera gave a flying fuck about anything other than the fact that his sister kept threatening his Sky.

_Th-that's not the problem!_

Knew it! Now -

_You siblings sure are close._

It made Gokudera's flames roil, just the way he'd expected them to, that jibe. It was sad though; he'd love to have a big sister like Bianchi, especially if she was just as scary-competent as she was. And between Flames and some of the stuff his dad made in the kitchen - like Fugu - Poison Cooking wasn't so weird.

_We're not!_

He eyed Gokudera and the door, and the mass of Flames he could see/feel through the door and edged a bit further away from it. He hadn't seen her use anything explosive. Yet.

_What a hopeless child._


	46. Episode 4 - Homework & Poison Cooking - Haru

_Solvent sakura rice cake!_

She blinked. That was a nonsensical thing for Bianchi-san to shout. Surely just going and getting a screwdriver would be more effective?

But Gokudera-baka let go of the door handle and was shaking his hand furiously, scowling and the _door was melting_? What the -

_How do you like the power of my poison cooking, the solvent sakura rice cake?_

Wrong, wrong, wrong. That was like the stuff she thought she'd imagined, when Bianchi-san had thrown Sawada a can that he fumbled catching - if that was real, too, and the explosives and the 'toys' that the two toddlers had. She was so dead. It wasn't a game. _It wasn't a game._

_Poison cooking can pull that off, too?_

How could he be so blasé! When someone was trying to kill them with toxic _sludge_. Now she understood why Gokudera-baka kept needling the tall teen if he was so calm when something like this happened. And why was the silver-haired teen doubled over - was just seeing Bianchi-san a problem - why? And why was she trying to kill them? Bianchi-san had been perfectly nice to her downstairs!

 


	47. Episode 4 - Homework & Poison Cooking - Hayato

His Sky tucked him into his - his Sky's - own bed, and if it wasn't for the why or the how he'd ended up there he'd have been ecstatic. But, the fact that he'd just doubled over again because of his sister, made the pleasure bittersweet. The bed was warm and comfy, and smelt like his Sky and it was going to be _really_ hard to get back out again when Tsuna needed his bed back and he went 'home' to his silent apartment. (Whose rent had gotten suspiciously cheaper; but he wasn't ready to look a gift horse in the mouth yet, other than to be glad it would allow him to stretch his money further.)

_I'm the one who suggested Bianchi-san. So if she solves the problem, I win._

He was going to stuff a stick of dynamite down that stupid civilian girl's throat if she didn't shut up. Bianchi would have left them alone if she hadn't -

_Hey! Don't decide that yourself._

Ow. His stomach _hurt_. If this kept up he was going to have to bribe or coerce Shamal into checking him for damage. This was excruciating and he couldn't help his Sky like this!

_Yes. This doesn't matter at all! It lacks love. And it has nothing to do with me._

Oh. Thank fuck. She was going and his Sky's Flames were helping and now he could just lay here and hope the other two would go away, too, and he could maybe cuddle his Sky and sleep this off. Please God?


	48. Episode 4 - Homework, Completed - Reborn

_I know! This problem was in a book my dad was reading!_

An amused smile curls his lips; he had been wondering how long it would take her to think of asking her father. It was the other part of why he'd been willing to 'play' with her. Between her attendance at Midori and her father, she would be a useful Family member.

_He teaches mathematics at the university._

If he's got that book on his shelf, he doesn't _just_ teach at the university, Haru. He possibly should feel a little guilty about pulling in another half-orphaned child to Tsuna's circle, but he'd given up on guilt not long after he was cursed; if the universe could do that to him, then at least he gave children the tools to survive what it threw at them.

_You should have called him first then!_

... that was an unexpected response from Hayato. Perhaps the boy's trust in adults hadn't been _completely_ destroyed. That was both useful and a pain; and slightly odd in a Cloud. Perhaps it was the influence of his other Flame-types. He'd been expecting to pitch him as something like the voice of caution, the one who helped him keep the secret.


	49. Episode 4 - Homework, Completed - Takeshi

_No, it can be solved. You didn't consider the possibility that the paper was glued together to begin with. You've forgotten the Stickybond theorem._

He eyed the Arcobaleno warily. That sounded like bullshit, and the not-toddler's Flames were dancing with amusement. Either this was a complicated prank, or there was something else there - Haru's dad wasn't Flame Active, but was he Flame _Aware_ , maybe?

_Oh! How could I have forgotten?_

He rolled his eyes mentally. So a prank ...

_Wait, was this a trick question?_

Tsuna was genuinely puzzled though, which after the stories his Dad had been telling him about Skies was weird; possibly it was a side effect of what had his Flames all tangled up? Their intuition, even that of the very weakest of Skies, was uncanny. With the mischief his tutor was radiating, he should have been able to spot it.

_Those sideburns!_

Are very ridiculous, yes. He smiled to himself; and there was the payoff.  
  



	50. Episode 4 - Homework, Completed - Haru

_Dad, you know Reborn-chan?_

Please say no dad, please; I want to get away from the crazy. The pink-haired lady downstairs throws around _Poison Cooking_! She adds the last part inside her head - if she can't get away, she _wants_ in to this little group. They're close knit and she's lonely. And if there's something peculiar going on, she wants the safety that comes with numbers.

_Reborn-chan? That's not his name. His name is Borin! He's the one who periodically appears in academia to solve every problem previously considered impossible! The mathematical genius, Professor Borin!_

_Dad._ That was an _anagram_ of Reborn. One or the other was definitely a cover name; she was _so_ doomed. If the toddler was Mafia, was actually not-a-toddler, then she was going to end up _dead_ if she didn't play the game; her eyes flicked around the room, and she received a tiny sympathetic nod from the baseball player -

_In that case, Reborn-chan, you'll be living at my house._

Say no. Please say no. Kami, please say no; I'll make an offering at the shrine.

_I was the one who solved the problem. The match ended in a draw. Just to make things clear, I can't leave this house until I've trained Tsuna to be a strong Juudaime._

He made a pretty weird Gandalf, but -

The pacifier round his neck caught her eye, almost hypnotically, and her dad hadn't even twitched at the mention of the Mafia. She's so _doomed_.

_Mafia? Juudaime?_

Innocent. Innocent. Haru does a good line in innocent. Smile Haru.


	51. Episode 4 - Challenge - Haru

She was panting already under the armour as she chased Dame-Tsuna and Kami, she was going to have to redouble her gymnastics. Maybe add a morning run? At least that way she could have an extra cake day each month - that could be her motivation. She'd need it.

Dame-Tsuna tripped on the bridge and she skidded to a halt in relief; she couldn't have chased him much longer - and they were getting too close to Nami-chuu for her comfort, as well. Dressing like this near that school would be an open invitation for Hibari-sama to bite her to death.

_Ow!_

He'd skidded when he hit the floor, which probably meant he'd just grazed his hands and knees. Ouch; he had her sympathies, but she was going to go through with her plan - she wanted, no, she _needed_ to be inside the group or she was going to be vulnerable. All her experience with RPGs and stories told her that.

Don't call him Dame-Tsuna, Haru. He's the group's leader -

_Ts-Tsuna-san._

She congratulated herself and desperately tried to finish catching her breath.

_Good morning. Uh, who are you?_

She was a _little_ bit insulted, but then she remembered that she had a full face mask on and flipped it up, to allow him to see her face.

_It's Haru. I was up all night, thinking._

And researching, and spending _way_ too much time online, she added silently. She was regretting that a bit, now, but last night had given her a _lot_ to think about.

_So you dress up like that when you don't get enough sleep?_

Hmph! This was a perfectly sensible outfit for fighting someone who might have all sorts of secret skills! She'd seen him with _fire_ on his head!

_No! That would make me an idiot._

And she _wasn't_. She'd seen through the mist to what was _actually_ happening, and she was _trying_ to not end up dead, thank you very much!

_Then why?_

Wasn't it obvious?

_If Reborn-chan is really a hitman, and you're really going to become Juudaime, then you should be really strong!_

Though there was obviously something _wrong_ with him. And for that matter, where was his dad? If he was to be the tenth generation Boss, didn't that mean that his dad was the Ninth? And why didn't he know more ... and if she was threat enough for him to run from, why hadn't he caught fire, yet? He'd done that when the silver-haired teen had -

_What?!_

Oh. It wasn't for a threat. It was to _save_ someone. Okay, she could appreciate him more now she'd put two and two together and figured that out. She still had to prove herself to him; had to earn herself a place beside him. Make him _want_ to save her if she needed it.

_If you win, I'll accept everything. I won't say anything about how Reborn-chan lives his life. Please accept this challenge!_


	52. Episode 4 - Challenge - Hayato

_Man, why do I have to run into you so early in the morning?_

He needs a cigarette, a drink and his Sky. Then he'll be more sociable, more up for human interaction. The fact that he's a Cloud Guardian would make any normal mafioso leave him alone till he indicated he was up for talking, but no, he got himself stuck with a group of might-as-well be civilians who poked and prodded and wouldn't leave him _alone_!

_Because we live in the same area._

They didn't, not really. The Lightning lived with his dad over the family's restaurant which was expensive, and in a nice part of town; he lived further out and in a bit of Namimori that was rife with Yazuka.

_That's not what I meant!_

Movement catches the corner of his eye, and his head snaps round to see his Sky being chased by someone in a ridiculous outfit. There's a little panic seeping through his bond with him and more annoyance.

_Boss? Tsuna? Damnit!_

He can feel the Lightning beside him reacting, too. The idiota is in desperate need of a weapon though - or to figure out how to use those Flames of his offensively. He was pretty good at obscuring things with his Mist though for a beginner.

The strange figure swiped at his Sky again with the stick they're holding, and it looks like they have a little bit of training. Not much - not enough to avoid ending up spinning round like a top when his Sky dodges - but enough to potentially be a threat, especially with them both being on the bridge above the water.

_Boss!_

He has a handful of dynamite without really thinking about it. Not particularly high-powered sticks - he's not pumped any Storm Flames into them - he lights them and will toss them when the fuses are a touch shorter - they'll detonate above his Sky and the freak in the costume. His eyes flick to the Lightning, and his eyes are tinted purple, which means no-one else should come running -

_Move out of the way!_

He calls the warning to his Sky, flaring his Flames to get his attention and throws the dynamite at the _perfect_ moment. It arcs through the air and blows at the apex of the curve. He's _good_. Even if he doesn't get that much opportunity to fight with his dynamite, he's spent a _lot_ of time practising.

_Eek!_

Damn. Of course the freak would overbalance and end up in the water; he'd intended for them just to be forced to the ground, giving his Sky a chance to get clear. Eh. It was their own problem for scaring his Sky. The river would dispose of them quickly enough.


	53. Episode 4 - Challenge - Takeshi

_Th-This is bad! Her armour is too heavy! And I can't swim!_

But she's going Flame Active. He can see it; swirling green Flames like his own, edged in dark blue. It makes sense; she's been exposed to a Sky's Flames too, and her life is in danger. It's kind of interesting to watch; it freezes him in place.

_H-Hey, one of you save her._

He couldn't do anything useful - not from here. Not in _time_. It's kind of sickening to realise he's going to watch someone die and he feels _nothing_. He suspects from things that Gokudera - Hayato - has said that he's already killed, so it's no surprise his Flames aren't reacting.

She could save herself if she knew how to use her Flames, but without knowledge -

He blinked. Did Reborn just _shoot_ Tsuna in the head? His Flames whipped up in response, but Hayato's hand shot out and grabbed him before he could move and icy calmness seeped up from the point of contact.

"Watch." The silver haired teen hissed out of the corner of his mouth. But his attention was caught by the Sky Flames that ripped free of the binding that had them tangled up normally. The binding was still there, still trying to contain the Flames, but couldn't at least for now.

And then Tsuna was diving into the water, and there was another shot -

_Eek!_

And his Sky was coming up with the flailing girl, her Flames clinging to his. He suspected that they would have bonded, they did bond a little, bit, but it wasn't like the bond that he or Hayato had with his Sky. Different, but not weaker for the difference; it was like it could be displaced in the right circumstance.

_Hope you've learned your lesson and you'll stop stalking the boss._

He snorted at the muttered wish from the teen beside him. That wasn't going to happen.


	54. Interlude - Hibari

The Flames had attracted his attention. Both the plume of Sky Flames and the panicked awakening of yet another Flame; the not-toddler perched on the bank watching the chaos was at least not his Uncle. He almost pitied the little Sky in the water; the not-toddlers were a nightmare. His Uncle still defeated him when they sparred, and he had yet to succeed in even coming _close_ to biting the not-toddler carnivore to death, despite his desire to.

He made that two and a half Guardians Sawada had gathered. That was interesting, but he had no desire to crowd with him. Not yet. Even if the little Sky had managed to pull in another Cloud, which his uncle had said meant that a Sky was strong. Perhaps even strong enough to be his. And the Cloud he had attracted had definite carnivorous tendencies, as did the male Lightning; the way they had watched what was happening, the indifference was _interesting_. It whispered things about the Sky in question to him; made him curious. But not ready to crowd. Not yet.


	55. Episode 5 - Breakfast - Lambo's Minder

He wants to bash his head against the wall. Lambo had escaped him again, about twenty minutes ago, and when he managed to track him down -  
  
Well, he should have expected it, if he was honest with himself. The brat seemed to have a magnetic attraction to the Young Lion's wife - and her cooking. It wasn't as if he could blame Lambo, if he was honest. He suspected that Nana Sawada might even be a latent Sky herself - she certainly had created the kind of welcoming, tempting home that he'd been told Female Skies did.   
  
If he wasn't quite so wary of the Poison Scorpion, or of the Arcobaleno, or even of Nana himself, he might have joined them. But he was, which left him with a dilemma. Wait here and snag Lambo when he left the house, or trust that Nana would use the number he'd left with her and go and catch up on his sleep.  
  
The lure of more sleep won, and he turned away from where he was watching his ward, just managing to avoid another of the not-civilian teens with the pompadour hairstyles. They were everywhere, watching, and if he'd been at home in Italy, he'd think he had trespassed onto territory claimed by one of the more proactive groups, like the Varia.


	56. Episode 5 - Bento - Haru

_I didn't promise anything like that!_

... but, but. Her mental voice is whiny, and she's not sure how to respond to his denial; he'd saved her _life_. Didn't that mean anything to him? Couldn't he feel the bond they now shared?

She swallowed. Didn't he realise that she was indebted to him for saving her life? She doubted she'd be able to save his life in repayment, not with the way Yamamoto and Gokudera circled around him, trying to keep him safe - and that was a man's way of dealing with a life debt, anyway.

_Tsuna-san, take this lunch I made for you!_

It was a small enough thing; and all her kaasan's books, the ones that her father had boxed up for her, that she wasn't suppose to have read yet, said that this was how you showed a boy you were interested in him. And without her kaasan to ask ...

_L-Lunch?_

His nervousness was cute!

_I was up for two nights making it!_

If she didn't have her hands full with the bento she'd finally manage to figure out how to put together, she'd have slapped a hand over her mouth! She hadn't meant to actually say that out loud. A proper yamato nadeshiko wouldn't take two nights to make one -

_Two nights? That's terrifying._

She deflates. He knew it. And she'd met his kaasan, and she definitely was a yamato nadeshiko and how was she suppose to match up to her, which was how he knew - and how was she suppose to repay her debt now?


	57. Episode 5 - Bento - Hana

_Morning, Tsuna-kun!_

Kyoko, darling, what is it about you and encouraging the damn monkeys? This one has a _crush_ on you, and it's _pathetic_. And he keeps appearing semi-nude in public; I mean it was only last week he ended up in the _river_ naked.

_Kyoko-chan ..._

Ugh. "Kyoko-chan". You're encouraging him, letting him be so familiar, darling. He'll think he has a chance, which means he's probably going to end up semi-naked in front of you _again_ , and I have no desire to look at his scrawny ass, or risk seeing his dick.

_You two sure are close friends._

Everyone calls him Dame-Tsuna for a _reason_ Kyoko. If you must pay attention to the boys, why not one that's actually _useful_? If she wants him, let her have him, and discourage his crush on you. He's not worth it.

_No, this is ..._

... Sawada, open your fucking eyes. You've got a Midori girl crushing on you, she's cute, and she's interested. Kyoko's not. She's _mine_.

(Not that I'm not actually going to say _any_ of that in front of her. Not yet; probably not ever.)


	58. Episode 5 - Interlude - Tsuna

He's still holding the Bento, still confused, when he runs into Takeshi and Hayato. The two of them are bickering, and he shoves the last few, confused minutes into a box in his head and shuts it, firmly. He didn't know how to deal with Haru's obsession, nor the way he wasn't feeling quite the same fluttery feeling from Kyoko calling him Tsuna-kun as he had before Hayato-kun had arrived.

It was more easy habit than anything else to call her Kyoko-chan; he still likes her, but he's not sure it's like-like anymore. He gets more of that fluttery feeling from running into Hayato and Takeshi, if he's honest, but that's something else he shoves into a box. It's just an effect of having actual friends, he tells himself.

Instead he's sliding between his two friends, intercepting the barbs they keep throwing at each, and turning them back on each of the other teens, rather than letting them descend into fighting like they did some days when they were bored.

Reborn had praised him for it, said he was acting like a Sky should - and had then peered at him through a Leon-magnifying-glass and had hummed that damn chaotic hum he and Takeshi shared. He'd wanted to ask, but his tutor had threatened to shoot him so he was stuck wondering.

By the time they reach the school gates, and he's intercepted two attempts by Hayato to stuff lit sticks of Dynamite in Takeshi's mouth, and one attempt by Takeshi to use the bokken he had tucked into his baseball bat's bag to concuss Hayato, he's ready for class.

... It doesn't stop him noticing Hibari-san, who looks, and is acting, irritated. He's actively breaking up anything that even remotely looks like a crowd, and he sighs and hurries Takeshi and Hayato inside before either of them could attract the moody prefect's attention.


	59. Episode 5 - Interlude - Reborn

He watches Tsuna through a pair of binoculars, observing the change in the tone of his interactions with Kyoko Sasawaga and Haru Miura, and the way he skilfully managed the ongoing flirtation between his Cloud and his Lightning - and he was still annoyed that he's misidentified both of them. He had been so sure that Hayato was a Storm, and Tsuyoshi's boy really should have been a Rain; Tsuyoshi himself was.

(The man had sighed when he'd walked into the restaurant, but served him personally, foods suitable for his palette but far more complex than most would serve a toddler, and there had been sake, too. He'd definitely recognised him, or at least what he was. Which explained why Takeshi was getting a handle on his Flames so quickly. How Baka-mitsu had missed the man's presence, he did not know.)

There was going to be so much confusion when he introduced Tsuna and his Guardians to the wider Mafia if his first two were anything to go by; even as teens Takeshi and Hayato really did look like Ugetsu and G, even if they didn't share their Flames, and Fon's nephew resembled Alaude - which was part of why he'd been so convinced the boy was a Cloud, but he wasn't so sure now.

He'd noticed said prefect venting his temper on the rest of the school body, and how Tsuna had slid the still bickering Takeshi and Hayato past him. He tapped his lip; he'd been wrong about Tsuna's first two Guardians, and Tsuna didn't flinch from the older boy, the way some of the students did. Perhaps he would still manage to co-opt the strength that Fon's nephew represented for Tsuna.

Now, how to go about pushing the two of them together.


	60. Episode 5 - Room Assignment - Hibari

_Is there a problem?_

He leans in the door way, and purrs the question, one of his tonfas resting against his leg in open threat. Not that any of the herbivores in here could give him an actual fight. Not an interesting one anyway. He might even have to take Sasawaga up on the offer of a fight; at least the noisy herbivore would last more than thirty seconds.

_No, not at all! I-I'm sorry, Hibari-san!_

Hn. Their fear and submission is pleasant; it tickles at the edge of his Flames, and he slides the tonfa back into it's collapsible form. Definitely a fight with Sasawaga later. Otherwise he was going to be too frustrated to nap.

_Good. Please continue._

Hn. The herbivores are all twitchy and nervous, and he takes a deep breath, enjoying the taste of their fear pheromones. He much preferred Fear to Love; Fear kept the herbivores in line, and at a sensible distance. They weren't creatures he had any desire to crowd with - his Sky's others might be permitted to crowd, but would need to prove themselves carnivores, first.

_But isn't it weird for a committee to get to use the reception room?_

Hn. Kuskabe would be busy later; these herbivores weren't worth his time or effort. But his second wouldn't mind biting them to death in his absence while he found the noisy herbivore and beat on him; the other teen lived in his Flames, which made him actually fun to fight.


	61. Episode 5 - Room Assignment - Kuskabe

His father may be an _oyabun_ in his own right, but he had not raised his son to be a fool; there was a distinct hierarchy within the Underworld, and the Flame Users - and especially the Clouds and the Skies sat the very pinnacle of that hierarchy. And Hibari Kyoya would one day sit at that peak; therefore there was no shame in bowing to the other teen, in sharing _Sake_ with him, and standing beside him as his _wakagashira_. If that meant that for now his oyabun only ruled over a single school, that would not be so for very long. Not with two of the not-toddlers in the area. In the meantime, he would follow his oyabun's orders and keep his territory neat and clean for him, which meant dealing with these foolish, crowding herbivores. And, damn it, his oyabun was rubbing off on him!

_Your problem's not that you picked a fight with Hibari. It's that you ganged up on him._


	62. Episode 5 - Room Assignment - Hibari

_The weaker you are, the more you want to be part of a group._

Even he, Hibari Kyoya wanted to part of a group. but it was only a very small want, when compared to the way the foolish herbivores behaved. It was the want of a mate, and hunting companions, not for the herd that the herbivores sought. 

And above all it was the want of a challenge, of someone - or multiple someones - to test his strength against, so he could grow stronger yet. It was the desire for a Sky, bought on by the same accursed Flames that made him so strong the herbivores were no match for him, but he could ignore that want for a while longer.

(Even if his not-toddler uncle had told him he wouldn't be able to ignore it for long, if the right Sky came within his territory - his Flames were telling him that the currently being unSealed Sawada Tsunayoshi might be that Sky - but he would wait and watch a little longer.)


	63. Episode 5 - Room Assignment - Reborn

_Kyoya Hibari, also known as Hibari. He's head of Namimori Middle School's Disciplinary Committee, yet he also commands a gang of thugs._

He hadn't expected to find Fon's nephew here; not with the scant information that the CEDEF had supplied him; nor for the boy to be in charge of what appeared to be a nascent yakuza gang with the son of the area's oyabun as his second-in-command. He would add the omission to Baka-mitsu's slate to be paid. He was also quite obviously Flame Active, and well trained by his uncle. Even if Tsunayoshi already had a Cloud, Hibari Kyoya was a necessary addition to his allies - even if it was only for the early warning system his 'committee' could be.

But perhaps he was underestimating Tsuna, and missing something about Hibari Kyoya; there would be no harm in running a little experiment, and he did need some entertainment. Things had been getting boring again.

_How intriguing._


	64. Episode 5 - Roof-top Boredom - Hayato

_Next time you yawn in front of the boss, I'm gonna shove one of these in your mouth._

Lighting two sticks is _easy_ ; it takes the barest spark, and he holds the wicks in something like suspension with his Rain Flames. They're not particularly strong sticks and the idiota would probably survive, given the strength of his Lightning Flames. And trying to stuff two sticks of dynamite in a moving target would keep him entertained for at least a few minutes.

(He had another idea that would keep him thoroughly entertained, but he was fairly sure his Sky wasn't ready for that, yet, and his cheeks pinked slightly considering it.)

_You and your fireworks._

Oh, he _really_ was going to stuff one of the sticks down the idiota's throat or up his ass. Or something else; maybe the idiot's bokken or his baseball bat? There were one or two more things he could think of using, but.

_These aren't fireworks!_

Ugh, had he just said that? Really? Well. It was better than several of the other things that could have slipped out of his mouth. Like a demand for Takeshi to go the fuck away so he could occupy their Sky - on more than one level.

_Come on, don't start that again._

Just a touch of Sky Flames leaked from the cracks the Arcobaleno had been so diligently placing in that gods-damned Seal, curling around the two of them, carrying his Sky's desire for them to not fight. It wasn't a very strong tendril though, and he was annoyed, and frustrated, and it was easy enough to ignore.

_But he's just so insolent!_

Ugh. He just wanted to thrash some fucking respect into Takeshi. Didn't he understand that the way they behaved reflected on their Sky and what other people thought of them? And that that level of casual disrespect gave people the wrong idea about their Sky?

_You don't need to be on my case all the time._

I wouldn't be on your fucking case, you idiot, if your actions didn't reflect badly on Tsuna!

_Stop it, guys. Both of you._

The Sky Flames strengthen, pressing against his harder, trying to exert his Will on him and Takeshi, trying to get the two of them to calm down, to stop fighting, to play nice, to be in Harmony with each other. Not strong _enough_ to suborn his own Will, but wedging the cracks in the Seal wider.

_If you say so, boss. Man, I really am bored. I wish something shocking would happen._


	65. Episode 5 - Roof-top Boredom - Takeshi

_Is it a big chestnut to look surprising?_

That kind of punning would be just like Reborn's sense of humour, as far as he could tell. The Arcobaleno's idea of what was funny was kind of twisted and bent out of shape, and the bigkuri/bikkuri pun was right in that ball park. It wasn't as if the costume would actually make a good disguise except in very, very limited circumstances. Though perhaps ... Nah. He wouldn't deliberately poison Tsuna, would he?

_He's right, isn't he?_

... he's going to deny it. That would fit his sense of humour, too. At least he mostly targeted Tsuna with it. He'd take his mercies where he could find them.

_No, this is a sea urchin._

And he won his bet.

_He's passing it off._

Even if it was just with himself.

_That's pretty funny!_

The pun was pretty good, even if he did have to wind his sense of humour in by three or four notches, and then stand it on it's side and look through a magnifying glass.

_This is my camouflage spy suit used when tailing targets who commute in packed-trains._

He bit his lip, trying to hold in the snort of laughter. He could actually see the Arcobaleno doing that. At least when he was making fun of his target, because he wasn't worth taking seriously. It was like his shtick with Bianchi and their 'relationship'.

_If you wore something like that, every single passenger would stare at you._

But the 'point' is that they'd look at him, but they wouldn't _see_ him. They'd see the costume, describe the costume to anyone following him; he'd be just another tourist if he took it off, able to blend in with the crowd, even given how short he was.

_But everybody's so scared of the spikes that they stay away, so I can relax._


	66. Episode 5 - Reception Room - Hayato

_You mean … here?_

... this was the area of the school that he'd followed Tsuna into to deliver the bento to the Cloudy Mist. And this was the same area of the school that he'd been directed to discuss his attendance with the same Mist. He'd have balked if it had been the same room, but it wasn't.

(Though in hindsight, the pale spot on the door, and the door in the far corner probably should have been a warning sign that Reborn was feeling mischievous; but hindsight was 20:20)

_I didn't know this school had such a nice room._

It has several of them, baseball-idiot; they're just primarily the domain of the staff and the damn demon Mist that they've all rolled over for. What was Reborn up to? This smacked of some of the stories he'd heard about him training the Cavallone - though at least in school there was a relatively low likelihood of bears.

_The reception room is hardly ever used. It's furnished and has a great view. It's the perfect setup._

And, he rolls his eyes at Reborn's description, but not abandoned. There are signs all over the place that the room is in use. There's no dust, for starters. A window is cracked, for air, and one of the couches - the one that he carefully steers Takeshi away from when they lay Tsuna down - has obviously been slept on by the subtle dents in the cushions.

(Reborn has to have noticed. The Arcobaleno has lived on his wits for _years_. But then again, he is _training_ Tsuna and there has been no indications of the Vongola finding another heir through his contacts, so what ever was about to happen might be painful or humiliating but ultimately would be non-fatal.)

_Setup for what?_

That's what he'd like to know. He wakes his Flames, pulls them up beneath his skin, ready to answer his commands on short notice. At least he's had a little notice; it means that he can take his time with them, rather than flailing and grabbing at Flames that weren't always convinced they wanted to answer him.

_We're going to make this room our Family's._


	67. Episode 5 - DC - Hayato

_You gonna fight the Disciplinary Committee?_

Oh for fuck sake. Reborn! Damn it - he couldn't use his explosives here without endangering Tsuna, and even if they were the Mist's minions, they almost certainly counted as civilians, which meant only internal Flame effects. He could do it, but the only one of his Flames he could use internally was his Lightning. And he really wasn't a short range fighter, but.

_Jeez … Oh well._

He was disappointed in the Mist. Just a little bit. His minions were weak, got in each others way and didn't know how to fight dirty. None of them had even _tried_ to draw a weapon, and none of them had figured out that the other reason for all his Rings was that they made a fairly effective knuckle-duster substitute. He was actually starting to have fun - even if he doubted this was who he was suppose to be fighting. In fact, that was probably the Mist, who would be turning up soon to check on the disruption to his Territory.

_Little brat!_

Ooh. Initiative! He took back that comment about the quality of the Mist's minions. Shame about the fact that he had awake back up that they'd been ignoring. Three, two, one -

_Mops are for cleaning, you know._

... Maybe he could learn to appreciate the Lightning. He certainly had the timing and the snark down pat. And he hadn't jumped in and spoiled his fun until help was actually going to be useful.


	68. Episode 5 - DC - Takeshi

_I hate weak bottom-feeders who band together._

He winced. That was Hibari-san alright. What had Reborn gotten them into? He could feel the thickness of the Mist's Flames as the other teen grinned and pulled two tonfas from nowhere. Previously, he'd thought it was just good tailoring that hid them, but with the new senses that awakening his Flames had brought him, he could see the entwined flash of purple and dark blue that had them forming out of nothing more than Hibari-san's Iron Will.

_You._

He winced as the other Guardian lit two sticks of dynamite. Oh, Hayato - that's not going to help. He pulls up his Lightning Flame carefully, to the limits of his skin, and then bites his lip. He needs to do something to protect Tsuna. He edges towards the sofa that his Sky is still unconscious on. He pours his Flame into the piece of furniture, hoping it would act as a baffle.

_When I see one, I want to devour them._

The Mist's Flames surged, and he _moved_. Which was not how his father had told him that Mists normally fought. He'd said that Mists were long range fighters ... but then again, the Mist was also a Cloud, and Clouds often were close range fighters. He watched the two of them, watched the way that Hibari-san outmatched Hayato easily, and winced at the blow to the other teen's head that left him unconscious and his dynamite spinning away. Fortunately Reborn dealt with those, and he was left with a smiling Hibari-san, which was terrifying.

_One._

He channelled his Flames into his arms and threw himself against the Mist. He needed to protect his Sky so very badly and this was surprisingly good fun. The Mist was enjoying himself too, it was in the taste of his Flames, in the way the two of them spun and danced around each other. His hands hungered for a bokken, but he didn't have one, and that was his downfall.

_You've got good moves. But you're favouring your right hand. I see. You're with the Baseball Club._

There was a flare of Cloud Flames, and Hibari-san sped up, two or three times and his tonfas _glowed_. And he couldn't keep up. Not with the way the other teen was suddenly targeting his still weak right arm. There was a sharp crack that brought with it oblivion, and he begged the gods. Don't let him hurt Tsuna.

_Two. Is that all?_


	69. Episode 5 - Interlude - Hibari

"Control your herbivores better, little animal." He had half expected the little fluffy Sky to stick his head up when he realised who he was beating on. But the fight was too good to turn up; especially when both of them had actually given him a little bit of a challenge. The other Cloud needed to work on his short ranging fighting, though he approved of the improvised knuckle dusters that had obviously been used on his wretched minions. (He'd have to send the five of them back to remedial training under Kuskabe. _Really_.)

"Hiiieee. Hibari-san?" A touch of fire appeared in the little Sky's eyes, but only the faintest trace. Hn. The Seal - that he was kicking himself over not having noticed before - was cracking, but was not broken. Not yet. "I owe you another bento, don't I?"

"Hamburger-steak, little animal." He was amused at the way that the little fluffy Sky had decided to bribe him. "The last one was delicious." He reached forward and ruffled the hair gently; it was just as fluffy as he expected; and he contemplated what to do about the little Sky's invasion of his space. "You should remind the other two that the not-toddlers are untrustworthy." The Sky leant into his touch, and the few tendrils of Sky that could escape past the Seal reached for him.

"Not-toddlers, Hibari-san?" The little animal is genuinely confused. He can feel it, and he skews his Territory just far enough that the not-toddler he can feel won't be able to hear what he's saying. His uncle had told him that some of them were very touchy about the curse, and whilst he was tempted to provoke the Sun that had come to tutor the little animal, the little animal needed more information, first.

"Hn. The not-toddlers Flames are broken. And they're not toddlers; my uncle is one." The Sky squeaked. In distress. "The curse goes with the Rings you're being prepared to wear." The not-toddler’s Flames pulsed against the outside of the Territory he was excluded from. "I'll explain more at some point, but your tutor wants you back." He made the twist back to 'reality' very obvious. And then made a decision as the Sky Flames surged, and tugged at his awareness. He let go of his death grip on the core of his Flames, and let them rise, too, just as the not-toddler fired another one of those shots.

"Mine."

(His Flames purred and settled; he understood better what his uncle had meant now. They felt steadier, easier to handle, like he could expand his Territory, and still control it just as easily as he found controlling Nami-chuu. And there was no craving to crowd, beyond wanting more of his little Sky's delicious bentos, no force being exerted to bend him into something he was not.)


	70. Episode 5 - Interlude - Reborn

Mist. Fuck, fuck, fuck. How had he missed the teen was a Mist?

One moment he'd been watching Hibari dance with his his student's Lightning, Fon's training very, very obvious in the way he moved, and then there had been words spoken between his student and the older teen and then something like the queasy feeling that he associated with one of Viper's pre-prepared Mist traps being woken, and he couldn't hear the words of the two teens, couldn't keep his eyes on them without considerable effort. It made his gut twist and clench - Mists were unpredictable, dangerous, and he'd just thrown his student into the path of one that he knew little about other than the fact that he was strong enough to be chosen for Checker-face's scheme.

There was one advantage to teaching a Vongola Sky, though. Providing the Mist let his charge out of the trap of course - if not, he'd have to kill him and accept Fon and Timoteo's punishments - in that Dying Will Mode would break the Mist's hold. Leon slid into his hand in response to a pulse of his Flames, shifting shape into his preferred pistol - resized for his far smaller than they should be hands - and he settled down to wait.

The trap broke open, revealing the Mist with a pleased smile on his face, and his student managing to look both wary, and half out of it, simultaneously. He sighed and fired a shot, half expecting it to be deflected by one of the Mist's tonfas, a possessive attempt to keep his student within his power, but the Mist's smile only widened, and he read the shape of the one word he uttered in the movement of his lips.

" _Mine._ "

A Mist screen sprang into place, blocking his view of his student again, though he could still hear him this time, rather than the muffled buzz of the trap proper - when it dropped, Tsuna was wearing a very, very proper version of the uniform - which had to be a Mist construct, though the Flame still burnt on his forehead, and his student's lips -

Tsuna scooped up his two unconscious guardians, lifting them easily thanks to the bullet, and ignoring him _entirely_ , carried them out of the Reception Room. The Mist looked at him, tonfas back in hand, and he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to fight an annoyed Mist, wth close combat skills, on pre-prepared ground, and decided that retreat was the better part of valour. He could probably defeat him, but.


	71. Episode 5 - Interlude - Tsuna

He manages to drop Hayato-kun and Takeshi-kun onto his bed just as the Flame on his forehead fizzles out, and ow. Ow, ow, ow! When was that going to stop hurting? Reborn had said it would, when his body got used to it, but it obviously hadn't, yet.

He flopped onto the bed between his Lightning and his Cloud (it felt weird to think of them like that, especially since his mind had now catalogued Hibari-san as his Mist, but it was an accurate description) and stretched, trying to ease all of the sore, overly taut muscles. The heat from the two teens on either side of him helped - which he'd have to remember.

But still. Ow!

He lay there, just counting his breaths in and out, trying to work his way through the pain, waiting for his tutor to burst in - and that brought his mind back to considering what Hibari-san had said about Reborn. It made certain things make sense, but it made his skin crawl slightly, and he shivered. The shiver had his Cloud - whose breathing had shifted from unconscious to sleeping - attempting to snuggle him.

The extra heat helped, and he was exhausted; a nap wouldn't hurt, would it?


	72. Episode 6 - Interlude - Hayato

It takes him a long time to wake up. Which is strange; he hasn't woken this slowly since he was tiny, before Lavina - his mother - had died. Since before he'd heard the whispers of his bastardy. He's warm and he's safe and he realises - achingly slowly - that the reason he feels so good is that his Sky is within arms reach. Except he's afraid that if he finishes waking up, he'll find that Tsuna's warmth is a mirage, a creation of his mind and his Flames. It wouldn't be the first time that his mind and Flames had done that to him since he'd arrived in Namimori, had been 'dragged' into Tsuna's Sky.

The camera click from the door way though, tells him that he probably isn't dreaming. It's certainly would be a new addition to his dreams. He cracks an eye open cautiously, reluctantly, not wanting to 'lose' the warmth yet if he was only dreaming, but he instead of losing the warmth, he'd been treated to the sight of his Sky's mother holding a camera. He sighed, shut his eyes again, heard several more clicks as Tsuna tried to snuggle closer to him. He'd have to make sure he stole at least copies of those pictures, a soft reminder to himself that this had in fact happened; he'd prefer to manage to snatch the film itself so the pictures couldn't be used against him or Tsuna. He wouldn't put it past Reborn for example. 

He had Tsuna plastered to his back, still asleep, leaking enough Sky Flames that he wanted to purr. It was a sign that the Seal was cracking, that maybe he would get to have his Sky all of the time. He'd have to figure some way to thank the Arcobaleno. Eventually. Perhaps he would distract his Sky's Lightning from the paranoia he could see in Yamamoto's Flames. They were both fully dressed still, so he could be fairly sure the night had been as innocent as it could, but a boy could wish, couldn't he? He would adore this being how he woke up every morning. Of course it would be even better with less clothes, but he would probably have to work _slowly_ up to even sleeping in just boxers. He squirmed back gently into Tsuna, investigating whether his Sky was as far into puberty as he himself was; his answer was yes, though he didn't intend to _do_ anything about the fact. Just enjoy the feeling of his Sky's morning wood rubbing gently against his butt. 

Tsuna was fast asleep, and he wasn't ready to move yet, so he reached out carefully with his senses and shuddered at the evidence he could feel in close proximity to the house of exactly how effective a hitman his older sister was. There were smears of Mist and Storm Flames in the toxic combination that suggested she'd been using poison cooking offensively, and he pitied the poor buggers she'd finished off with it. It also warned him that the Arcobaleno was feeling mischievous and he turned carefully in his Sky's arms, and feeling daring, pecked Tsuna on the lips, before wriggling carefully out of his grip. He needed to sneak out before he got caught in the crossfire of whatever Reborn had planned.


	73. Episode 6 - Morning Routine - Bianchi

Damn. The blast of cold air is noticeable through the steam of the shower she's taking; it was just as well that also obscured her form or she'd have to kill Hayato's Sky, and she didn't want to ruin her attempt to reclaim her baby brother. He was _hers_ , and her father was going to suffer for what he'd done. Eventually. She'd decided she was so looking forward to telling him that she was going to have to inherit the Family because he'd driven Hayato into the arms of the Vongola Decimo.

She could have sworn that she'd locked the bathroom, but she was _so_ tired. Standing watch over the house and killing nameless idiots - and insuring they were appropriately disposed of - was exhausting, and Reborn was a sadist, one who was making her earn her contract pay. Hopefully the brat wouldn't look to closely at her dirty clothes; Reborn was breaking him into the lifestyle gently and if he recognised the blood stains he'd panic.

_Give me a towel._

Better to make him focus that _she_ was in his shower, naked. He was a teenage boy; imagining the hot water sluicing over her body would hold his attention _beautifully_ , unless he was _completely_ homosexual. And even then her relationship to Hayato would probably have him flailing about the fact she was naked.

Reborn claimed the boy had a crush on the pretty brunette in his class. She was a little sceptical; there was _something_ about the girl and her shadow that was niggling at her brain; if the shadow had been a mafioso, she'd have said the girl was a Cloud circling her Sky; she'd have to keep an eye on them. Reborn was such a _man_ sometimes.

_Yes-s Ma'am_

She swallowed her amusement, contemplated what she'd seen of her baby brother since their reunion and his likely response to his Sky _wanting_ him that way. It was going to be so funny to watch; that wasn't the response of a heterosexual male finding a pretty woman in their shower. Hmm; she'd known there'd been the cutest puppy pile on the kid's bed when she'd started her watch, and while she'd seen Takeshi head home - she didn't remember Hayato leaving. It was possible he'd snuck out while she'd been distracted by Reborn or disposing of one of the bodies - poison cooking had a myriad of uses and Nana's compost heap had gotten a lovely boost - but imagining Hayato still waking up in the kid's bed was cute. He deserved to be adored by someone. She turned off the water, and wrapped the towel he handed around herself, and stepped out of the shower, and the _look_ on his face. Not straight at _all_.

_E-Excuse me!_


	74. Episode 6 - Morning Routine - Nana

_Man, why are [they] here? Mom, where's the other dishes?_

She grinned, and hummed to herself, flipping the eggs again. Her kitchen was full! Her Tsu-kun had friends! Her Tsu-kun had a boyfriend, even! The only way this could get even better would be for Iemitsu to come home.

That thought depressed her a little bit, but then she remembered how cute the puppy pile had been last night. It didn't matter if he couldn't be bothered to come home anymore. She had her Tsu-kun and he was happier than he'd been in years, and that was enough. And she had company during the day, Reborn's sweet former student even liked cooking with her, and Bianchi could do wonders with the _strangest_ ingredients!

_Good morning, Tsu-kun. Here you go. They're already done._

She giggled and place the food in front of her little boy and considered what sort of cake to make to celebrate her Tsu-kun coming out of his shell; and she would need to get some more espresso for Reborn-kun! Hmm she'd have to go shopping later and see if she could find some inspiration in the market. Perhaps Bianchi would like to join her, after the girl had had a nap; she'd looked exhausted.

_Thanks -_

Such a good boy! If only Iemitsu had given her little siblings for her Tsu-kun - she banished that thought, too. Her Tsu-kun had friends, and little Lambo needed a mama figure, and latched onto her, and his guardian didn't mind. And there was Reborn-kun, and her Tsu-kun had friends!

_My sunny-side up eggs! What're you doing, Reborn?!_

She rolled her eyes in amusement, and turned back to her still hot frying pan and cracked two more eggs into it; the sizzling and the extractor fan meant she missed the start of Reborn-kun's response to her son, and she would have to remind her son's tutor that Iemitsu sent home too much money, and there would _always_ be enough food at her table.


	75. Episode 6 - Interlude - Hayato

He started to get up, to follow Tsuna, but found himself pinned by a surprisingly acute stare from his Sky's mother, which only make him blush again. "Finish your breakfast, Hayato-kun. I love Tsu-kun, but he's not a morning person, at all; you'd both have plenty of time to get to school if he'd just waited for me to finish cooking. When you're done, could you take those two bentos with you to school, as well as the one I made you for lunch?" Nana Sawada _confused_ him. How had she ended up married to the Young Lion of the Vongola? She was a complete Yamato Nadeshiko! And she hadn't even blinked at his presence at her breakfast table that morning - or said anything about the fact he and Tsuna had slept wrapped around each other - fully clothed - last night.

"Of course Sawada-hime!" He folded back down into his chair and finished the breakfast she'd put in front of him; it really was very good, and his cheeks heated  even further at the memory of trying to sneak out past the woman earlier and finding himself ordered sit down and eat something.

"None of that, Hayato-kun. It's Nana, or at most Nana-san, to any of Tsu-kun's friends. And you're quite welcome to eat here, young man; I like having a full table to feed." She turns back to the stove before he can reply; she turns back with another plate full of food that she divides between the Bovino brat and the Arcobaleno. "Reborn-kun, I don't know what any of your situations were before, but there's no need to _steal_ Tsu-kun's breakfast if you're hungry. Iemitsu sends me far too much money; I can afford to feed you _all_."

He tilts his head and watches the interaction between the woman and the Arcobaleno and finally catches the slight haze of a low level illusion, one not 'tuned' to him, and fuck, that makes far too much sense.

He's still wondering what the source of the illusion was when he finally escapes Nana-hime's kitchen, three bentos balanced in his arms. He narrows it down to three possibilities on the way to school. The Arcobaleno has a Mist Secondary, the Mist Arcobaleno applied it to the others on their request for some reason, or it was a protection for the Pacifiers. As to what it _did_? If Nana-hime and Haru were anything to go by, and even _Tsuna_ , it seemed to make people not covered by omertà ignore the conflict between Reborn's _size_ and his actions. And if he was right, that would make watching who it affected would be _fascinating_


	76. Episode 6 - Gyoza - Fon

_Huh? Why is there a food stand here?_

He looks up from speaking to his student; he's been pushing off this moment, is still pushing it off - he knows exactly where her target is, will get there first and eliminate him - but he's getting to the end of his tether with the Triads. He's going to have to beg his bratty grand-nephew to watch over her for a while so he can beat some sense back into the community, or failing that execute a few of the stupider leaders. He hands over the envelope to I-Pin, and a few of her favourite gyoza; her adoration for the style amuses him, but as she's also more than competent with half a dozen other styles, he hasn't tried to talk her out of using it. And he'd really rather not wake her Flames fully yet, given the wretched Mist alteration her parents had bequeathed on her, until either Kyoya had learned enough to remove it, or he'd tracked down Viper.

_Hm? Is this the next target?_

He nods, and she grins and swipes an extra gyoza, wandering off nibbling on it. He'll pack the stall down soon, but he's disguising his presence from the Yakuza - and from his grand-nephew - as he'd rather not get into a fight right now, so he waits a few minutes longer. The Sky Flames - barely there, leaking past an abomination of a Seal - makes his head jerk up. Shit. There wasn't supposed to be one of the Lords of Flame here! How had Kyoya missed him, with the depth and breadth of those Flames?

_Oh wow, that looks good. Mister, can I have one? They all look great._

He almost falls off his stool, but recovers and nods. He'll have to hurry up and talk to Kyoya; Sky Flames that rich leaking out had to be sending his grand-nephew up the wall and he'd be entirely unreasonable within _weeks_ . It only takes a minor slight of hand to prevent the little Sky grabbing one of the rather specialised gyoza his student used, and he smiles appreciatively as one of the leaking tendrils of the baby Sky's Flames stroked across his Storm. He was tempted by the unconscious offer; there was a Cloud and a Lightning sheltered in those Flames, and oh thank all the gods in the heavens; Kyoya's Mist was there too. Maybe his grand-nephew would do a slightly better job of pretending to be a civilised human being under a Sky's influence; a man could hope, couldn't he?


	77. Episode 6 - Interlude - Hayato

The fact that he'd beaten Tsuna to the school made him twitchy and anxious; the Boss should have gotten here before him, and he wanted to go back and search - what if there had been assassins lurking, waiting for his Sky! But his Sky's Mist - and he'd almost dropped the bentos when he'd realised that the demon prefect had decided that he was 'keeping' Tsuna - had seen him enter the school, which meant that unless there was enough panic to drag the demon prefect along, too, he had to stay put. It was that or get bitten to death by his Sky's Mist. Fuck his life, he was going to be expected to ride herd on a Cloudy Mist; the most terrifying fucking type of Active Flame User as far as the wider Mafia was concerned. At least Tsuna's Lightning was almost sane compared to the few Lightnings he'd met before; obsessed but not unreasoning.

"Where is the little animal, _Cloud_?" Well that was an improvement on 'herbivore', though wasn't going to help with omertà.

"On his way." He paused, calculated who the bentos could be for, considered the fabric they were tied up in - and where the hell had Nana-hime found fabric covered with dynamite? - and picked up the one with purple and dark blue stripes. "I suspect this is supposed to be yours," he paused, considered the precedence set by the form of address the demon prefect had chosen and decided to follow suit, "Mist. Our Sky bolted the house thinking he was late, so his mother gave me these three to bring to school with me. As our Sky's Lightning brings fresh sushi _every_ day -"

The Mist had untied the fabric, and inspected the contents. "Acceptable. Tell the little animal to be cautious. One of the other not-toddlers is in town; and if one of them brings chaos, it only multiples with more present." The older boy turned, the bento 'disappeared' - he assumed into some sort of Mist territory given the brief flash of dark blue flames, and then there were tonfas in the demon prefect's hands. "The penalty for crowding is _to be bitten to death_." Their classmates scattered, seemingly having not registered the Mist's presence until that point, and now desperately trying to dodge well earned blows. Not that many of them managed, and he sighed. The rest of the Mafia was just going to have to learn the fucking rules and take their lumps, and hope like hell that their Mist didn't go quite as off the rails as some did.


	78. Episode 6 - I-Pin - Hana

_Cleaning's a pain in the butt._

The damn monkeys shoved all the work off on Dame-Tsuna. Again. She grumbled. And Kyoko-chan was too soft to do the same thing, so they were stuck helping him. But at least with the other monkeys having pushed off the work, and Dame-Tsuna being so damn _dame_ , she didn't have to be quite so paranoid to keep Kyoko-chan safe. And the way he looked at the new delinquent in their class, she doubted he would be any real threat to _her_ Kyoko.

_You're from yesterday ..._

... she really needed to stop letting Kyoko-chan out of her line of sight, but she hadn't figured out a way to keep _her_ Kyoko-chan that way. Dame-Tsuna flashed a puzzled look at her, and then focused on the toddler. At least this one wasn't as noisy as the last one that had followed Dame-Tsuna into the school.

_Hey, it's that kid! Why's he at school?_

She raises an eyebrow at that; what was it with all the strange things happening around the school's _worst_ student.

_Did he do something  
Actually, yesterday ..._

She didn't _think_ any of the monkeys who were so interested in her Kyoko-chan were bright enough to use a younger sibling to lure her off, and Kyoko-chan was too cheerful, but her instincts prickled _viciously_ , and she was relieved when Kyoko explained the innocent encounter and thanked the kid. The blush on the kid's face was adorable.

_Where are you from?_

She eyed her Kyoko-chan warily. She loved the other girl, but she was not going to be held responsible for her actions if her Kyoko-chan encouraged little monkeys to cling to her. She was not a _toddler_ person. She thoroughly intended to hand off this developmental stage to someone else. It would be safest for _everyone_ concerned.

_What a nice boy._

She meant it. And Kyoko-chan was _hers_. Something twitched sleepily at the bottom of her soul.

_Huh?!_

Dame-Tsuna took half a step back, looking like he'd suddenly realised she was a danger to him. Sensible boy. The toddler held up a photograph of a skeevy adult and she didn't want to think of why the toddler might want to find the individual concerned. If that was her father, then perhaps she wouldn't object too strenuously to her Kyoko-chan deciding to 'adopt' the kid.

_Huh? You're looking for this person?_

The toddler squinted at the dame-monkey and then ran off, and she was relieved - and disturbed - by that, and she herded her Kyoko-chan into the classroom and resolved to keep an eye out for the kid.


	79. Episode 6 - I-Pin - Hibari

_That baby isn't here today. How boring._

But he recognised that child. Or rather he recognised the outfit, and he grumbled. If his great-uncle's apprentice was here, then his great-uncle probably wasn't far behind her. As much as he disliked the false toddler, he was a good master to his apprentices, and even if I-Pin was competent, he wouldn't allow her to wander alone at five. But the idea of two of the false toddlers in _his_ territory made him hiss and grumble; they were both prone to causing chaos and the combination would cause that chaos to grow exponentially. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and retreated to his office. He couldn't even set his committee to do more than watch for the two of them; the omnivore's Cloud and Lightning had proven that they needed more training. Tetsuya was working on that, making use of his father's connections, but if the false toddler insisted on staying in the area, he'd try and trick him into helping improve his committee's competence. After all he was a bonded Mist, and that was just expected behaviour from Mists.

There was something about his great-uncle's current apprentice that he had forgotten, and he yawned. He'd reinforce his territory with his Flames to keep the chaos from spreading further; the herbivores did not cope well with chaos, and ructious herbivores were a nuisance. He spread his Flames, allowed them to trickle out to charge the territory he'd created. It fed back the status of his school to him - the presence of his little animal, and the other Guardians his little animal had found; several of the other students were going slowly Active as well, including a second Sky which made his head hurt; and the fact that both the false toddler stalking his little animal and his great-uncle's apprentice were on the premises, and he flopped back on to one of the sofas, and cursed his life.


	80. Episode 6 - Rooftop w/I-Pin - Takeshi

_Yo, Tsuna! We've got make-up classes again._

The hairs on the back of his neck had prickled, insistently, and he'd felt Hibari-san's Flames spreading through the school, and the instincts his father was trying to teach him to manage had guided his feet in this direction. He could feel Tsuna's demon tutor, like shards of glass slicing at his skin, but that wasn't saying anything; the Arcobaleno could be as much of a threat as he was protection for his Sky. His father had told him all sorts of stories about the Cursed Ones.

_[Takeshi]!_

He grinned as the small amount of Sky Flames Tsuna was already leaking past that thrice-damned Seal soothed the painful sensation of the Arcobaleno's Curse. Tsuna was doing better already, and while he hated the feel of the curse, he could forgive the Sun a _lot_ for that. It probably explained why Hibari-san hadn't tried to bite the Cursed One yet or tried to drive him out of Namimori; the Prefect was a strong enough Mist - without even making use of his Cloud to amplify it further, that he might even manage to do so.

_Catcher! Back home!_

He threw the kid again, and tried to edge around to where Tsuna was to use his Lightning to shield his Sky from the little Flame Active's fucked up 'gift'. It felt like a little like the one Hayato's sister had; and given he'd seen the pink haired hit woman consume her own food, and Hayato had survived repeat exposure ... he shook his head, and dismissed that line of though - it was something to discuss with his father, later. It wasn't going to help with whatever the result of that knot of Sun and Mist untangling would be. He just knew he needed to protect his Sky.

_Save everyone._

He swore, and wished for a Storm Secondary, or even a tertiary; that was the Arcobaleno pointing a weapon at _his_ Sky, and the angle was wrong for him to get in the way, and he _knows_ there's a reason the Cursed One uses the rounds, but his Sky _dies_ every time they hit him and that makes his head and Flames hurt, and how the hell was Hayato and Hibari-san _not_ reacting? It was like being _stabbed_ in the heart and the fractions of a second it took Tsuna to come 'back' were eternal.

_I'll protect everyone as if my life depends on it!_

He could breath again, and the weight of his Sky's Flames almost had him on his knees, as the Seal was cracked a little further, and Tsuna came back from his most recent death on fire and half naked again; he snuck a look at Hayato and was amused to see a very Cloudy expression on the Italian teen's face, and he suspected if he wanted to drive Reborn off, Hayato might be willing to help just so he could keep half-naked Tsuna to himself.


	81. Episode 6 - Rooftop w/I-Pin - Hayato

_Boss?_

He blinked, and had to keep a really tight grip on his Flames, and the instincts that came with them, because his Sky was half-naked in front of him, and he'd gotten to sleep curled around Tsuna last night, and this was just adding to his fantasies. Especially given the way his Sky's Flames flared so brilliantly, wrapped around him like a warm blanket, and he almost threw up when those Flames were dragged back under the Seal. He swallowed his nausea, and eyed the Lightning ready to intervene; Takeshi was _really_ not happy about the way Reborn kept shooting those bullets at their Sky. He would need to have a conversation about what the Arcobaleno was doing . Takeshi seemed to be learning to use his Flames _very_ fast for a civilian, so there might be someone else he needed to talk to.

_What was that?_

Fuck. There was a second Sky on the roof. He _felt_ that spike of Flames from the girl that Reborn was _convinced_ that his Sky was crushing on. What was it _with_ this town? The only towns he was aware of with this kind of density of Flame Users were those around the major Famiglias. And he could guess why _that_ was. But Sasawaga Kyoko didn't look like she could be a sibling to his Sky, so that had to be something else about this town.

_What just happened?_

He resisted the urge to face palm at the Lightning, but he could feel the Mist Flames the baseball player was radiating, and then 'watched' them slide off the school's Idol. Shit. That was a recipe for chaos. She'd need to be inducted before she broke omertà - and if she went Active, she'd like drag her Cloud Active, too. And he didn't want to deal with three Active Clouds within such a small space, even if their territories weren't in conflict. He was his Sky's senior Guardian, and his Sky was a Vongola Sky; with Kyoko coming from an unknown line, she was likely weaker that _his_ Sky, and that meant that providing the two of them weren't dissonant - and given that Reborn kept mistaking her for Tsuna's crush, he doubted they would be - Tsuna would be responsible for her.


	82. Episode 6 - Rooftop w/I-Pin - Hana

_Who is this? -_ _What a scary old man!_

How the _hell_ had that little kid just survived that, and what was with Dame-Tsuna being shot and bursting into Flames, and why was she the only one who was concerned about any of this? Even her ditzy Kyoko was more curious than concerned, talking to the little exploding brat like there was nothing strange about a human blowing up, and that human not being injured by it. She was sorely tempted to shake all of them, including the strange little toddler that had shot Dame-Tsuna. This made _no_ sense at all!

_It's you, the target. I-Pin kill you!_

Dame-Tsuna and her Kyoko were looking at the picture the little kid was proffering and that was equally worrying that both Dame-Tsuna and her Kyoko were treating the announcement that the kid was looking for a target - for assassination given the way she'd exploded - as completely reasonable. Scratch _tempted_ , she was going to do something drastic to her Kyoko to beat into her that assassination was not acceptable; or at least not without a lot of evidence and proof that the police weren't a viable option.

_Me? This doesn't look anything like me!_

She still hadn't seen the picture, but why is she not surprised? And how could someone send the kid out to conduct an assassination and not notice the kid was as blind as a bat. It's easy enough to swipe the glasses sticking out of Dame-Tsuna's delinquent's pockets and pass them to her Kyoko and gestured for her to stick them on the kid's face; the look of chagrin tells her that her guess about the kid's eyesight was right.

_You're someone else. I-Pin messed up._


	83. Episode 6 - Interlude - Hibari

The explosion - both the boom itself, and the burst of Flames - woke him from a well earned nap. He snarled in irritation and stalked out of his office to find out what was going on with his Sky and the other members of his pack; that explosion had felt _very_ familiar. He cursed his great-uncle under his breath. He'd bite the fake-carnivore baby to _death_ for bringing his apprentice into his territory without _asking_ first. That had tested the limits of his ability to smudge the perceptions of the herbivores within the territory, and he disapproved of anything that riled up the herd. They became such a nightmare to manage when they events made them anxious.

His Sky and the other carnivores and omnivores of his pack were up on the roof and he raised an eyebrow as he saw the school idol, teetering on the edge of Activation. That was going to make things messy, especially with Kurokawa appearing to be a Cloud; that made three Clouds in a very small territory.

"Shifu?" His great-uncle's apprentice latched onto his leg, and he sighed as she went bright pink, and then the countdown timer on her forehead started.

"Not Shifu, little animal." He spoke calmly and then poked her in the forehead with a finger covered in Mist Flames, and untangled the knot that was trying to form itself in her Flames. "But he is my great-uncle, and we can go and search for him and bite him to death when we find him. Why are you in my territory?"

"I-Pin has a target, not-Shifu." She pro-offered a picture, and he raised an eyebrow as he looked at it. He'd bitten that herbivore to death over a month ago, and his great-uncle was well enough connected to know that.

"I've already bitten him to death, little animal. He violated my rules." She screwed up her face into a scowl.

"You _killed_ someone, Hibari-san?!" His Sky squeaked.

"Of course I did, omnivore. I'd bitten him previously, and he hadn't learned his lesson. He approached some of my female herbivores and wasn't willing to take no for an answer." He didn't  _like_ such permanent solutions to misbehaving herbivores, but if they wouldn't learn. He glared at his great-uncle's apprentice. "Your shifu will come looking for you, little animal. We will wait for him, and you will practise your Japanese." The little girl nodded, and he picked her up; he'd keep her in the Reception Room until the end of the day, and then he'd bite his great-uncle for intruding into  _his_ territory.


	84. Episode 6 - Interlude - Hana

Had she _really_ just heard the ultra violent school prefect _admit_ to killing someone whilst being _paternal_ at a toddler assassin? The non-reaction of the other monkeys makes her think she's misheard. _But_ there had been a small handgun in the suit-wearing toddler's hand before he'd vanished from the roof - and she hadn’t seen him leave - and there were dark blue Flames on the baseball monkey's hands and she froze as she realised that she had heard the prefect right. And what the reason the monkey had claimed for killing the man in the photograph _was_.

" _Explain._ " She hissed, and there was purple flames dancing over her fingers and she was confused, but the demon-prefect was smiling. Dame-Tsuna and his pet delinquent exchanged wary looks with each other, and then there were Flames like the ones dancing over her hands dancing over the delinquent's and the demon-prefect's. She looked back and forth between the two of them.

"They're called Dying Will Flames, Kurokawa." The words came from the demon-prefect. "They're your soul made manifest; the false-baby-carnivore would tell you that they mean you 'have' to become part of the underworld. But they don't. You will, however, be taking the next week off school, Kurokawa, to train them. Lose control, and I bite you to death; damage my territory -"

"Be bitten to death. Stupid monkeys." Her eyes narrowed. "If I'm taking a week off to train, then who guards my Kyoko while I'm gone, because if she gets hurt again, I will hurt _everyone_ involved." The delinquent blinks, his eyes flicking back and forth between Dame-Tsuna and her Kyoko, and she can see him putting two and two together to get an answer that she wants to know. And wants to know the question too.

"What conclusion did you just reach, smoking-monkey? You've got a brain, even if you keep trying to hide it." The demon-prefect snorts in amusement.

"You're skipping a few lessons, Kurokawa." She wants to snarl at them all, can feel her tolerance for the stupid monkeys fast slipping away from her. Wants to know what Dame-Tsuna’s delinquent knew about her. "Kurokawa, touch Sasagawa. You'll feel more in control." She wants to lash out at the demon-prefect, but he has them all conditioned to follow his directions, and Kyoko has already laid a hand on her bare forearm, and the demon-prefect was right, her Kyoko’s touch had soothed her. "I will guard your territory for you, Kurokawa. She is _part_ of my own, after all."

She eyes him skeptically, but nods sharply. "Fine. When and where?" The demon-prefect pulls a card out of his pocket, and handed it to her. It had an address on it. "Here?" He looks at her like she's stupid, and she does stomp off then, dragging her Kyoko with her. She's so done with this bullshit for today.


	85. Episode 6 - Interlude - Fon

“Ojisan.” The word is bitten off and he hides a smile. His great-nephew feels different; which is only to be expected, really, given that he’s under a Sky now. His Mist is even stronger, his Cloud bent to the Mist’s purpose, and he taps a finger thoughtfully. “I seem to remember promising to bite you to death if you returned.”

“I’m not a threat to your Sky, Kyoya-oi.” Certainly not as much of one as Renato; especially given the most likely reason his former colleague was present in Namimori. “But I do need your assistance with my student. The Triads want her to start assassinating people.” He can feel that his student is within Kyoya’s suite of rooms in the school; he hopes that she didn’t get into too much trouble before his grand-nephew had scooped her up. The target he’d set her on should have been sufficiently well hidden for the search to keep her safely out of the way for the rest of the day.

“And she tried to assassinate my Sky earlier by mistake, and blew up in the heart of my territory.” He slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand as he realised what the problem had been.

“Her eyesight is degenerating even faster than I thought it was. Are you capable of untangling the curse she’s suffering from? It’s the reason I’ve been suppressing her Flames.” His grand-nephew eyes him thoughtfully, and snaps his fingers demandingly. A slightly older teen, an Electric Rain wearing a rather ostentatious quiff opened the door to the room in response.

“Yes, Kyoya-sama?” He suppressed the snicker that wanted to escape. His grand-nephew was such a Cloudy Mist. Between the territory and the minions -

“Bring the little Sunshine here, Kusakabe, and then have a tea service sent up. My ojisan and I have things to discuss.” The teen bowed, and then backed out of the room, and Kyoya-oi relaxed back into the chair he was sat in. “If you can talk me through it - ” The strength of the Flame that his grand-nephew called to his hand was startling in its strength. He’d known that the boy was going to have his strength whilst he’d still been in his niece's womb, but this was even beyond that. He easily rivalled Viper, and he was not yet at his full strength; he’d have to throw his resources behind Viper and Verde to find a solution for the Pacifiers because he didn’t want to see Kyoya-oi forced to bear one of them.

“I can share the memory of what her aunt and uncle did to her. I was hoping to leave her with you and your mother for a few weeks so that I can exercise my teeth on the triads a little.” His grand-nephew snorts as he plays to the boy’s preferred metaphors.

“The little animal’s mother, or the female Sky that the little animal protects will be happy to spoil her and treat her as a little girl should be treated, ojisan. Or, if she can keep up with our training regime, then she may stay with us.” He’s amused by his grand-nephew’s response, but it’s more than acceptable. 

Especially as I-Pin pushes the door open, and he smiles at her, and the glasses she’s wearing. They’re adorable, and he tilts his head at Kyoya in question. “Hn. She was a danger without them, and they were easy enough to make.” 

“Shifu!” His youngest student hugs him, and his cheeks pink. Especially as the moment she hugs him, he realises that Kyoya has already dealt with the curse. His grand-nephew is a cunning little brat of a carnivore.


	86. Episode 6 - Home - Nana

_Why are you here, I-Pin?_

The little girl is darling, and watching the grumpy boy who was in charge of the town - even she knew that the youngest-Hibari was the one actually in charge in his parents absence, despite how oblivious she _knew_ she could be - dote on her is adorable. Not that she’ll let the little Hibari know that she thought he was adorable; he might try and bite her to death.

_I-Pin still have much to learn, so I-Pin decided to train in Japan._

She raises an eyebrow at the Hibari boy, intending to invite him to join their breakfast; he had accompanied the little girl to her house after all, and he shook his head softly, but did sweep up the dark blue and purple wrapped bento before leaving her kitchen. The boy was almost as bad as his mother, but at least she could be sure that no harm would come to the little darling now eating breakfast at her table under his watch.

_I see._

She rolls her eyes at her son. He might be dubious about her kitchen having an open table, but she likes having a noisy and welcoming house and lots of people to look after. And the gesture of trust from the littlest Hibari was nice, too; the fact he’d left his new ward to eat breakfast with her and swiped up a bento was high praise indeed.

_Lambo-san’s here!_

And there were the Bovino boys; she smiles at the two of them, and then gestured to the table. There was a seat set for both of them, and she pulled another tray of food out from inside the oven. She’d been experimenting with Italian food and both of the boys look at what she had prepared for them appreciatively.

_And now he’s here …_

Her lips curve as her son head-desks. He might object to the way the house had been invaded, but he’s been so much happier since Reborn-kun arrived. And the way he had curled up with the silver-haired boy and Yamamoto-san’s boy two nights ago, was so adorable that she wanted to keep encouraging them to puppy pile. Her boy deserved to be looked after, and Hayato-kun and Takeshi-kun would do that for her.

_Lambo-san’s come to get some breakfast!_

The little Bovino was adorable in the way he mangled his honorifics, but he was only three or four, given he was still talking in the third person, and she exchanged a look with his caretaker, who shrugged helplessly.

_Welcome, Lambo-kun_

She corrected his honorific gently, and handed him a fork went he failed to use the chopsticks. His minder gave her a grateful smile and dug into his bowl.

_You’re slow, Tsuna. You should protect your food yourself._

She sighed and pulled another bowl out of the oven for her boy. He really was unlucky when it came to her cooking around other people. And she glared at Reborn-kun who looked a little sheepishly at her. He and Bianchi could play all the games they wanted with her boy, but she wasn’t going to let anyone at her table go hungry.


	87. Episode 6 - Home - Hayato

_Hey, Tsuna, we're here. Gokudera had some free time, so I asked him to come too._

Juudaime's cheeks heat so cutely when the baseball idiot pushes the door open that he wonders what his Sky was up to in the moments before Takeshi opened the door. His own cheeks heat a little bit as the mental image of his Sky with his hand on his own cock, masturbating sneaks up on him, and he flails a little bit, mentally, and settles for needling Takeshi to cover his own embarrassment.

_I was worried about there just being [Takeshi] with you. I would have been fine by myself ..._

It wasn't that he was worried that the Lightning couldn't look after Tsuna if someone attacked them, but if anyone was going to be the one who got to hug their Sky, and curl up in that warm sweet scented bed, it was going to be him. Not their Lightning. The thought of curling up with his Sky again made his blush worsen, and Takeshi raised an eyebrow at him, and elbowed him in the ribs.

_Come on, it's a lot more fun if we all do our homework together._

Homework. Right. Homework. That's what they're there for. He just has to remember that, and not snuggle up to Tsuna unless Tsuna invites him too. His Juudaime hadn't been raised as a Sky, which meant he wouldn't understand why all he wanted to do was lay there with his head in his lap and bask in his presence, especially given that it was only skin contact that let him know his Sky was, well, a Sky.

_Anyway, come on in, you two._

He preened a little bit. Getting invited into his Sky's personal space was _never_ going to get old. _Ever_. (At least until he got to move into it full time, and that probably wouldn't happen until they'd wrested the Iron Fort away from the old farts. Even if his Sky didn’t want him in his bed all of the time, he’d make the guard chamber all his.)

_Go away! Monster!_

He flinches as the two Flame Active toddlers invade Tsuna's room. It wouldn't be quite so bad if they were fellow elements within his Sky's embrace, but they weren't, and they felt more like threats than anything else, especially now the Demon Mist had removed I-Pin's curse. Perhaps he should push them at the baby Sky that had emerged this afternoon? Kyoko Sasagawa would make an excellent Sky for both of them, and as she looked to his Sky, then they wouldn't feel like threats.

_That's ... what are you doing in the boss's room?!_

The two Rings around his neck heat, and he touches them gently, trying to figure out what was making them react, and then shook his head, and pulling Tsuna over to the table to do their homework. He could ignore the chaos if he had his Sky, and he suspected that his Sky Ring was reacting because the Seal on Tsuna was under pressure and cracking further. Which was good. He couldn't wait to have his Sky his, _all_ of the time.

_They must be here to have fun too._

He snorted at their Lightning, and pressed himself a little closer to Tsuna. Movement caught the corner of his eye; he turned his head to look out of the window, expecting to see the Sun Arcobaleno, possibly readying a Dying Will shot, because Reborn was like that, but instead found himself meeting the eyes of the Cloudy Mist who considered the school his territory. That was _fascinating_ ; the chairman had been the one who had brought the little Misty Sun over for a playdate. Was she a Hibari connection? And why was he lurking up a tree?

That line of thought was abruptly halted when a wisp of his Sky's Flames connected with his and soothed his agitated Flames, and distracted him _thoroughly_ from Kyoya and I-Pin and Lambo, and even Takeshi. He wrapped his own Flames around the wisp, and fed it with his Cloud, and amplified that wisp until it could fill up the room; once he had, even the two toddlers in the room stilled, and their idiot Lightning purred like an overgrown cat in response. (He also took the initial wisp, and tangled it up in his Flames and used it to strengthen the thready bond between the two of them - he even wedged a sliver of his own Flames into the crack that it had escaped from, forcing that gap a little wider.)

"Mmmm. Is this what Reborn’s trying to do with his bullets, Hayato? Make it feel like I could reach out and touch you even if you were miles away?" Tsuna sounds almost out of it, like he's giddy on his own Flames, and he realises that he probably is. If they've been Sealed away from him, so he couldn’t even use them internally - which given how clumsy and how hard to think it seemed to be for his Sky, he thinks they must have been - and they're not being channelled into Dying Will Mode, the way they are when they surge past the Seal under the influence of Reborn's bullets, Tsuna has no familiarity with this state. He pulls his giggling Sky into his lap and concentrates on radiating safety and warmth at him, wanting to act as a point of stabilisation for him. Tsuna takes advantage of the offered comfort, and curls into him, and he doesn't grumble too much when Takeshi leans against him to and ruffles their Sky's hair.

They spend what feels like hours curled into each other, basking under the heavy blanket of Tsuna's Flames, until someone nudges the door open. They're all too sated and sleepy and under the influence to respond particularly quickly, and Nana laughs and snaps a picture of their pile with her cell phone. "Ara. So cute! I was going to tell you that dinner was ready downstairs, but I can put it back in the oven to warm if you’re not done snuggling yet?" Tsuna squeaks, and scrambles off his lap and he sighs as most - but not all - of his Sky's Flames vanish back under the Seal again, and that was devious, to have tied aspects of the Seal to Nana's presence.

"We'll be done shortly, Sawada-san." The words come from Takeshi, and the Lightning grips his wrist with bruising force when he goes to follow their Sky downstairs. "I _know_ that you did _something_ that was helping with that fucked up Seal on Tsuna's Flames. And you clearly felt what happened, when his kaasan came in - do we tell the Arcobaleno, or -?"

He doesn’t answer the question immediately; he’s debating the answer internally, but there’s something else he’s curious about. "What is your issue with Reborn, Takeshi? You stiffen and your Flames become erratic and spark every time he comes near us."

"He's a _threat_. He might be contracted to tutor Tsuna, but we don't know the terms of the contract, and we sure as hell can't kill him if he proves a problem!" The Lightning's voice escalates in pitch through the entire answer, and he gives in and hits him with a wash of Rain Flames before he blows the house’s fuses. "And every time his bullets hit Tsuna, I. Feel. Our. Sky. _DIE_ , Hayato and it tears my heart out."

Shit. Shit. Shit. Of course their Lightning would be a natural fucking sensor. He knew that _he_ twitched every time a bullet hit Tsuna, but that was only because his Cloudy side was absolutely hyper-focused on his Sky (the fact that his Sky was injured only exacerbated the problem). A Lightning should have been almost oblivious to what was going on, but.

"He has to. The sort of Seal the Ninth put on Tsuna - isn’t meant to come off, 'Keshi. It’s normally used on people who end up in mundane prisons and the like; those who would otherwise break omerta, as a last resort. Those bullets are an Arcobaleno secret, and - well, as long as Tsuna has regrets, he'll come back." He doesn't like that the bullets are the only solution, but he's accepted it over the last few weeks. "And yes. We should tell Reborn, though I suspect that the reality is going to have to give in and beg my former mentor to come for a visit." The Lightning grumbles, but releases his wrists, and the two of them troop down the stairs to join Tsuna and his kaasan for dinner.

(Nana's cooking is heavenly, and he wonders if it's possible for there to be the inverse of his sister's 'problem'; if it is, he suspect Nana has it.)

**Author's Note:**

> NMNS will finish at the end of Episode 8 where things skew further away from canon, but it's only finishing where it is because everyone has been introduced and things have diverted from canon enough that the story telling style has to change. There will be multiple sequels :D
> 
> Inspired by [one of the comment threads on "Almost More Storm Than Sky".](http://archiveofourown.org/comments/96150083)
> 
> * * *
> 
> The scenes in the work(s) linked below are not canonical for this continuity, but I figured my readers may enjoy them.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[Collection] E-Rated Scenes and Fragments of AUs from "Neither Mist Nor Sky"](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10844877) by [Night-Mare (Aoife)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aoife/pseuds/Night-Mare)
  * [But First, a Mist](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10881084) by [Night-Mare (Aoife)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aoife/pseuds/Night-Mare)




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